Mazda5 real-world Mileage numbers

[randyl]

How long between fill-ups at 20-22 mpg?

7 to 10 days I guess... I normally do a lot of short trips (< 8km). It's only when I go fishing I drive on highway and long distance (say, more than 50 miles one way). No, I don't tow a boat with this car ;-)

Anyway, it's now over 440km on the 6th tank (filled up on Sunday) and it's just a little bit under half way. For the previous tanks, it would be 3/4 mark with 400km. So I'm getting like 100km more on this tank (thanks to the 300km highway driving). If it gets this kind of mpg every tank I'll be VERY HAPPY.

[AIMWO4]

I usually go about 2 weeks between fill-ups. Which makes me happy even if mileage is lower. I've tracked moving vs. stopped time with my GPS, and about 1/4 of my time is spent stopped.


7 to 10 days I guess... I normally do a lot of short trips (< 8km). It's only when I go fishing I drive on highway and long distance (say, more than 50 miles one way). No, I don't tow a boat with this car ;-)

Anyway, it's now over 440km on the 6th tank (filled up on Sunday) and it's just a little bit under half way. For the previous tanks, it would be 3/4 mark with 400km. So I'm getting like 100km more on this tank (thanks to the 300km highway driving). If it gets this kind of mpg every tank I'll be VERY HAPPY.

[danix]

We're now up to 15k miles (it's a 2006 - we don't drive very much!) and I removed the big Thule coffin off the roof to see if mpg improved. Nope, still around 19.8mpg. This is a mixture of highway driving (70mph+), city traffic, local errands, etc.

I'm starting to think something's wrong. This car is not heavy enough to get only 20mpg out of a 4 cylinder with VVT. Driving range is 250 miles or less before the low fuel light comes on.

[Copper5]

Last tank was 8.4L/100 km, or 28 mpg (American). It was only the second tank through the car... :)

[PolarBear]

Recently I had a chance to check mileage with 100% city and 100% highway.
So results are city 10.8L/100km or 21.7 mpg
hwy 7.5L/100Km or 31.4 mpg

[Gmac03]

I average 23-24mpg. Thats my average on the past ten tanks or so.

Gmac

[opus]

Just got back from a 2,070 mile round trip voyage from Toledo Ohio to Hilton Head Island South Carolina.

The drive was a mix of flat plains, mountains and everything in between.

Averaged between 65mph and 80mph. Trip was about 90% Highway and 10% traffic jam/city.

Temperatures were from 80 to 97 Farenheit so the AC was blasting constantly.

Car was fully loaded with four adults and enough luggage for myself and my wife and two teenage daughters and 8 days at the beach. In other words I had about 6 inches of vertical space at the top of the cargo area and every spare space had a bag or other item cramed into it.


First tank 29.2 mpg
Second tank 33.1 mpg
Third tank 30.1 mpg
Fourth tank 29.4 mpg
Fifth tank 31.2 mpg

Overall I am very happy with these results. Once again the 5 proved to be the best possible vehicle for our needs.

I also noticed that the 5 is very popular in the South, I saw at least 7 while in South Carolina alone.

[mazdadude]

Just got back from a 2,070 mile round trip voyage from Toledo Ohio to Hilton Head Island South Carolina.

The drive was a mix of flat plains, mountains and everything in between.

Averaged between 65mph and 80mph. Trip was about 90% Highway and 10% traffic jam/city.

Temperatures were from 80 to 97 Farenheit so the AC was blasting constantly.

Car was fully loaded with four adults and enough luggage for myself and my wife and two teenage daughters and 8 days at the beach. In other words I had about 6 inches of vertical space at the top of the cargo area and every spare space had a bag or other item cramed into it.


First tank 29.2 mpg
Second tank 33.1 mpg
Third tank 30.1 mpg
Fourth tank 29.4 mpg
Fifth tank 31.2 mpg

Overall I am very happy with these results. Once again the 5 proved to be the best possible vehicle for our needs.

I also noticed that the 5 is very popular in the South, I saw at least 7 while in South Carolina alone.

Well that is a 30.6 mpg overall average, which I think is hard to beat for moving that much cargo, and that many people.

Did you happen to check your tire pressure?

[opus]

Tire pressure was at factory spec of around 34psi at each corner. Had my daughter check them before the trip and while on the island. It was about 1-2mpg better than we experienced last year on the same trip.

[ofplon]

last 2 tanks, 70% city i got an average of 26mpg.

i'm sure i'll get 30 on a road trip.

pleased.

[twentysixtwo]

Prior tank was 29.5 MPG (US) but filled yesterday and calculated 27.7 mpg.

Probably more impatient and using the AC more. I had the windows tinted a couple of tanks ago but still very hot in Michigan

[5zoom]

08 5speed Auto just went from San Diego to Phoenix and back. Averaged 72-75mph with AC running the entire time in auto. Car was pretty well packed with my wife and 1 year old in the car(and all their.....urr, I mean our stuff). We averaged 27mpg both ways, which was a little less than I thought we would. I think the main mileage killer was all the weight in the car and the long grades the make up part of the 8 freeway. I was able to maintain 70-75 up the hills, but it required a few trips to 3rd gear which probably killed the mileage.

I had two odd things happen mechanically on the trip. The front vent controls refused to blow air out any vents after about 260 miles at 105 degrees F. The rear continued to work. We pulled over, ate lunch, and came back about 45 minutes later to working vents. It never happened again on the trip, even at triple digit temps climbing grades. Also, the transmission refused to shift out of 4th after climbing the final grade. I shifted it to neutral and then back to drive and it shifted into 5th. When shifting to Manual, the gear selector went blank. I have a feeling the trans got a little warm, but I didn't get an AT light.

[SparkyBhoy]

Road trip from Vancouver to the Okanagan, via the Coquihalla (nice big hill, for those not in the know).

I filled up, hit the tachy, drove, filled up again and noted the distance on the tachy.

We put in (2nd time) 36.8 litres, and the tachy was showing 424kms covered or 8.7litres/100kms. Using some online calculator, that works out at 27.1 MPG.

This was with 2 Adults, 2 Kids (in carseats), 29" suitcase (full), full size stroller, scooter, golf clubs and a cooler.

ACC was on full time and I was driving it pretty quickly (hey, I don't often get the chance to drive it!).

I also had the RPM's up to 5,500RPM on cruise control as it tried to maintain the 120kph/75mph speed going uphill.

[coolmazda5]

I also had the RPM's up to 5,500RPM on cruise control as it tried to maintain the 120kph/75mph speed going uphill.

ZOOM-ZOOM right there ;)

I also just finished a road trip, same as the Thanksgiving trip from last year, around 400mi each way. The non-scientific results tell me the 08 is a little bit better on gas than the 06:

Last year on the 06:


2006 Mazda5 (Sport, 5MT). Thanksgiving trip:
Getting there. Hilly Highway @75-80MPH: ~24MPG
Return. Hilly Highway @65-75MPH: ~27MPG

Same trip on the 08, same 3 passengers and fully loaded...

2008 Mazda5 (Sport, 5MT)
Getting there: 26.3MPG
While in there: 23.7MPG
Return: 29.3MPG (yeah, it seems to be downhill in average)

Stopped-by hilly Pittsburgh on the way back, and it is the 1st time I really feel that the 2.3L engine needed more dough while getting out of there. Yet not bad for a 4cyl family hauler after 3 years of Mazda5 ownership...

[07MZ5SA]

Also, the transmission refused to shift out of 4th after climbing the final grade. I shifted it to neutral and then back to drive and it shifted into 5th. When shifting to Manual, the gear selector went blank. I have a feeling the trans got a little warm, but I didn't get an AT light.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123713682

[rweatherford]

I had my first 40 MPG segment today on a 140 mile trip. I normally drive with 5-6 people in my Mazda5 and 4 of those are kids so the AC is always on, etc.. Not really "hypermiling". However I set out on my own to pick my sister up at the airport in STL. I taped on a full lower grille block from black plastic and masking tape and headed out to see what would happen.

I was able to sustain around 40 MPG the entire way. I ran without the AC and near 60 MPH the entire way. I used a steady throttle position some, but eventually went to cruise control as I wasn't seeing a big difference. I also used engine on coasting down hills. When I got to I-70 the traffic was moving nicely and I was seeing 40-55 MPG at 55 MPH. By the time I got the the airport I was at 40+ MPG. Pretty impressed. The coolant temp hovered in the 216-220 degree range the entire trip, which is pretty warm. I guess Mazda's temp gauges are fakes because it never even moved from half way. Stayed there the entire time. I have to look up the temp that my fan comes on to see if it was running or not. I didn't notice it. The intake temp was between 90-97 degrees.

EDIT: After looking up the fan control it looks like the fan was on "some". I guess we have a variable speed fan. It is 0% via coolant temp up to 212 degrees. At 223-226 degrees it is up to 75% duty cycle and above 226 degrees it is at 100% duty cycle. So a full lower grille block is a little too much going down the highway in 80-85 degree temps. Should be no problem in the winter. Guess I'll try again when it is cooler. I'm not sure how much it really helps MPG.

After picking up my passenger (had to circle 3 times before she made her way to be picked up) we turned on the AC and I ripped off the grille block. We drove @ 60 MPH most of the time and hit some rush hour traffic. It didn't hurt the MPG any when driving properly. I think it actually helped. You guys that drive on multi lane roads every day have it made for MPG. We stopped for supper and stopped again to grocery shop. After getting home the final tank total was 36+ MPG . Very nice for a 6 passenger mini-mini van. This was more of conservative driving than actual hypermiling.

[remarquian]

So Rex,

Are you getting your numbers via the Scangage II w/XGauge (tm)?

[rweatherford]

So Rex,

Are you getting your numbers via the Scangage II w/XGauge (tm)?

Yes. It has been tuned in so it is accurate within 0.1 gallons on a tank fillup. I've been pretty impressed.

I filled the car after returning from the trip to get the total trip mileage. I always fill at the same pump at the same station facing the same direction. In a small town at a "membership" station that is easy to do.

The trip numbers from the car (not the Scanguage) are 284 miles and 7.8 gallons of E10 gasoline. Since the Scanguage is calibrated so well it showed the same numbers.

[5phreak]

my best mileage so far in 20,000 miles of driving was this week: 28 mpg, mostly highway, various rates of speed, sometimes as high as 80 mph, usually around 70 mph.

[rhemz81]

Using E85 for $2.70 in MA... 5500 mileage...35 MPG highway 29 MPG city with a lot of speed.

MaZdA5 2008 sport

[rweatherford]

Using E85 for $2.70 in MA... 5500 mileage...35 MPG highway 29 MPG city with a lot of speed.

MaZdA5 2008 sport

That is very high. How much E85 was in your tank vs regular fuel. Normally I would not recommend running over an E30. I would think that running pure E85 would cause ECM problems and lower mileage than that.

I guess I'm impressed and concerned at the same time.

[rweatherford]

my best mileage so far in 20,000 miles of driving was this week: 28 mpg, mostly highway, various rates of speed, sometimes as high as 80 mph, usually around 70 mph.

That sounds about right for highway and that speed.

[rhemz81]

That is very high. How much E85 was in your tank vs regular fuel. Normally I would not recommend running over an E30. I would think that running pure E85 would cause ECM problems and lower mileage than that.

I guess I'm impressed and concerned at the same time.

What is ECM? It is 70% ethanol and 30% reg. fuel. That is what I always see everytime I went to E85 station. Actually the Mazda manual required only 10% ethanol.

[jeebusm3]

What is ECM? It is 70% ethanol and 30% reg. fuel. That is what I always see everytime I went to E85 station. Actually the Mazda manual required only 10% ethanol.

No, you have it backwards. The Mazda manual requires NO MORE than 10% ethanol. Our cars are not designed for e85. e85 requires injectors that are capable of pushing more fuel as e85 does not have the same amount of energy as regular gasoline and more of it is required during combustion. Cars can run e85 have injectors that support this, fuel lines that support this, and the engine control systems are designed to increase fuel rates to accomplish this.

Cars can generally run more timing and boosted cars can run more boost pressure when running e85 because it has an effective octane rating that is closer to race fuels than street fuels. HOWEVER, more fuel is used and you will get worse mileage running e85 in ANYTHING, whether is is designed for it or not.

I would not recommend running e85 in a Mazda5 AT ALL. I know people that run e85 in cars that aren't certified for it, but they have tuned the cars and modified them so they can run it. They sit there with laptops watching data to make sure it's ok. It's not something you just put into a normal car.

[rweatherford]

I would not recommend running e85 in a Mazda5 AT ALL. I know people that run e85 in cars that aren't certified for it, but they have tuned the cars and modified them so they can run it. They sit there with laptops watching data to make sure it's ok. It's not something you just put into a normal car.

Agreed!

[rhemz81]

No, you have it backwards. The Mazda manual requires NO MORE than 10% ethanol. Our cars are not designed for e85. e85 requires injectors that are capable of pushing more fuel as e85 does not have the same amount of energy as regular gasoline and more of it is required during combustion. Cars can run e85 have injectors that support this, fuel lines that support this, and the engine control systems are designed to increase fuel rates to accomplish this.

Cars can generally run more timing and boosted cars can run more boost pressure when running e85 because it has an effective octane rating that is closer to race fuels than street fuels. HOWEVER, more fuel is used and you will get worse mileage running e85 in ANYTHING, whether is is designed for it or not.

I would not recommend running e85 in a Mazda5 AT ALL. I know people that run e85 in cars that aren't certified for it, but they have tuned the cars and modified them so they can run it. They sit there with laptops watching data to make sure it's ok. It's not something you just put into a normal car.

Thanks for the info. Im now so worried, only faith I had that's nothing worst comes out in what I did.

[rweatherford]

Thanks for the info. Im now so worried, only faith I had that's nothing worst comes out in what I did.

If your fuel tank is not full just go add some regular fuel until it is full. This will help dillute the E85 and bring the percentage of ethanol down some. Eventually you will get the ratios back down to a more normal level.

Just the fact that no check engine lights have come on intrigue me. ;)

[jeebusm3]

Thanks for the info. Im now so worried, only faith I had that's nothing worst comes out in what I did.

there is a possibility you did no real harm. Your injector duty cycle certainly went up for a while but if you don't have any check engine lights on, you probably didn't end up misfiring or anything of the sort.

Remember, it's not THAT hard to convert a car for e85, just not advisable unless the conversion has been made.

[coolmazda5]

Just a quick update...

2006 Mazda5: 70 city / 30 highway: 22.60MPG (US)
2008 Mazda5: Purely city: 22.92MPG (US)

[jeebusm3]

Just a quick update...

2006 Mazda5: 70 city / 30 highway: 22.60MPG (US)
2008 Mazda5: Purely city: 22.92MPG (US)

yeah our '08 tends to pull 23-24 pure city.

[steph1693]

Here are my mileage numbers:

Mazda 5 GT 5sp AT 17'' weel with AC

465 Km 51.033 L 10.97l/100km 21.4 mpg
436 Km 48.258 L 11.07l/100km 21.25 mpg
479 Km 51.983 L 10.85l/100km 21.67 mpg

I'm now 4650km with the car and hope the mileage will be better in the future, i'm a normal driver no fast acceleration. I have to say i'm a little bit disapointed but love the car very much. Mazda says you do 9.6/100 (24.5 mpg)City and 7.1l/100km (33.12) highway, i think that's bs. My numbers are very far from Mazda. My first oil change will be in 4-6 weeks, i will put synthetic oil and see ih this would help. I honestly don't know how you can get 25-30 mpg, i am driving normaly and do 75% higway at around 110 km/h(65 mph) no kickdown and i have a 5 speed transmission instead of 4 speed like previous years.

[jeebusm3]

Here are my mileage numbers:

Mazda 5 GT 5sp AT 17'' weel with AC

465 Km 51.033 L 10.97l/100km 21.4 mpg
436 Km 48.258 L 11.07l/100km 21.25 mpg
479 Km 51.983 L 10.85l/100km 21.67 mpg

I'm now 4650km with the car and hope the mileage will be better in the future, i'm a normal driver no fast acceleration. I have to say i'm a little bit disapointed but love the car very much. Mazda says you do 9.6/100 (24.5 mpg)City and 7.1l/100km (33.12) highway, i think that's bs. My numbers are very far from Mazda. My first oil change will be in 4-6 weeks, i will put synthetic oil and see ih this would help. I honestly don't know how you can get 25-30 mpg, i am driving normaly and do 75% higway at around 110 km/h(65 mph) no kickdown and i have a 5 speed transmission instead of 4 speed like previous years.

every car is a little bit different. Some just never get great mileage. Others get mileage that is absurdly high. Most get somewhere in the EPA range. Our 2008 Mazda5 gets better mileage than our 2004 Mazda3 ever did. They have the same 2.3. Both were manual transmission. The Mazda3 was much lighter and by all logic it should have gotten better mileage than this Mazda5, but it did not.

[rhemz81]

there is a possibility you did no real harm. Your injector duty cycle certainly went up for a while but if you don't have any check engine lights on, you probably didn't end up misfiring or anything of the sort.

Remember, it's not THAT hard to convert a car for e85, just not advisable unless the conversion has been made.

It is not starting in the morning, I need to start it for 2 to 3 times before engine start. Is it because I try to convert and used e85?

[jeebusm3]

It is not starting in the morning, I need to start it for 2 to 3 times before engine start. Is it because I try to convert and used e85?

probably. but you should take it in to find out. I wouldn't mention you used e85 to the dealer as it will likely void your warranty.

[szwakon]

Using E85 for $2.70 in MA... 5500 mileage...35 MPG highway 29 MPG city with a lot of speed.

MaZdA5 2008 sport

That's strange. Usually mileage on E85 is worse than regular gasoline.

[eilros25]

I just took a 1143 mile trip on I-80 from Indiana through central Pennsylvania and averaged 30.11 MPG driving 70-75. The temp was in the mid-80s and I had the AC set at 70 for the whole trip.

[AO928]

I took a nice long trip with the whole fam damily and got 29MPG driving about 77.

[BlueThunder]

Here are my mileage numbers:

Mazda 5 GT 5sp AT 17'' weel with AC

465 Km 51.033 L 10.97l/100km 21.4 mpg
436 Km 48.258 L 11.07l/100km 21.25 mpg
479 Km 51.983 L 10.85l/100km 21.67 mpg

I'm now 4650km with the car and hope the mileage will be better in the future, i'm a normal driver no fast acceleration. I have to say i'm a little bit disapointed but love the car very much. Mazda says you do 9.6/100 (24.5 mpg)City and 7.1l/100km (33.12) highway, i think that's bs. My numbers are very far from Mazda. My first oil change will be in 4-6 weeks, i will put synthetic oil and see ih this would help. I honestly don't know how you can get 25-30 mpg, i am driving normaly and do 75% higway at around 110 km/h(65 mph) no kickdown and i have a 5 speed transmission instead of 4 speed like previous years.

Hey quelqu'un du Québec! Passe nous voir au clubmazdaquebec.com .


I just got my best MPG ever on the 5 since february. On a 570 km trip, we fulled up with 42.1 L. That gives an amazing 7.4 L/100 (Mazda specs for highway is 7.2L/100). It 38 MPG (Canada) or 31.75 US MPG. Therefore, there was a price to pay and I was the fun-to-drive factor. I was driving about 60 miles/hour al the way. Boring but satisfying at the same time.

2008 GS 5 AT

[straw10]

Just finished my first tank at 27.3mpg That is with the A/C on full time and varying the speeds as the manual suggests.

[canessa]

My 08 touring AT usually consumes 23-25 MPG with K&N air filter. However, I've just given MindBlower Performance Stage 6 Chip a shot, and woala .... I have been getting 28-30 MPG. All measurements are taking based on my 80hwy/20city commute. Bottom line is, beleive it or not, MindBlower performance stage6 really works on our car.

[rweatherford]

Ok I guess I'm getting old. What does "stage 6" mean. I realize that this is some type of new way of describing modification stages, but why does it seem so hokey to me. Sounds like some fast and furious crap.

Where do the stages end? I mean I had a custom turbo charged car with a complete stand alone ECU which I programmed, but I never made up a "stage #" system to describe my mods. Is there some type of standard or do people just make this crap up?

I could easily get my 5 to go from 23 MPG to 40 MPG just by changing my driving style. Actually I've never gotten as low as 23 MPG, but it would be very possible. That's why I'm pretty skeptical about this kind of stuff.

[5zoom]

I got 31.3mpg with my 08 5AT yesterday with the AC running about 20% of the time. Based on my scangauge, the AC draw of MPG/HP at speed is pretty significant, especially when going uphill. I filled up with 405 on the tank and based on the math, I would have come just shy of the magic 500 mile mark if I had run it dry. My gas light was on for about 20 miles before I filled up. Anyone run more than 50 miles with the light on before?

[coolmazda5]

My gas light was on for about 20 miles before I filled up. Anyone run more than 50 miles with the light on before?

Here you go, check this thread :)

http://www.mazdav.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123701106

[jeebusm3]

My 08 touring AT usually consumes 23-25 MPG with K&N air filter. However, I've just given MindBlower Performance Stage 6 Chip a shot, and woala .... I have been getting 28-30 MPG. All measurements are taking based on my 80hwy/20city commute. Bottom line is, beleive it or not, MindBlower performance stage6 really works on our car.

Those chips are absolutely dangerous to use on any vehicle. They are simply tricking the IAT sensor. Something which you DO NOT WANT TO DO. The IAT (intake air temp sensor) is key in letting the engine computer know how much fuel to put into the motor. Generally, these sensors trick the computer into running more lean. Running lean will increase your fuel economy under certain conditions because it is using less fuel. Running lean will also increase power (to a point). The problem is, the motors are not designed to run lean. They are designed to run the proper air/fuel mixture based on many factors. The intake air sensor is crucial to proper mixes.

Running lean increases temperatures inside each cylinder. Under certain conditions you might run so lean (a really hot day for example), that you misfire. Not only can that throw a Check Engine light, but it also will damage your motor over time. Your knock sensors will also get a workout from all the knocking you end up doing, and that will decrease your timing effectively choking power.

It is truly sickening how many people are fooled into buying these $30 performance "chips" (they aren't even chips BTW). I would never, ever buy a car from someone that had one installed. And despite what their ads say, it WILL void your warranty from the manufacturer.

[coolmazda5]

Good stuff. My only n00b comment about those things: if these "chips" cost that kind of money, save that large amount of fuel and they are so easy to implement, why not any car manufacturer has put anything similar on their cars during production especially at $4 a gallon? (scratch)

[straw10]

I was thinking the same thing with the fuel light. Mine lit up, I drove about 10-15 more miles and it only took 13.3 to shut off. Seems as it might be even a touch more than 2.5 gal. Also how do you insert your mileage stamp from either gassavers.org or cleanmpg.com? I see you have one up there Rex...

[rweatherford]

I was thinking the same thing with the fuel light. Mine lit up, I drove about 10-15 more miles and it only took 13.3 to shut off. Seems as it might be even a touch more than 2.5 gal. Also how do you insert your mileage stamp from either gassavers.org or cleanmpg.com? I see you have one up there Rex...


Put this into your signature.


http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/XXX.png

Change the XXX to your PNG number in your mileage log. If you send me your username I might be able to help you some more.

Should look like this.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/907.png

Change the XXX to your PNG number in your mileage log. If you send me your username on the other boards I might be able to help you some more.

[jeebusm3]

Good stuff. My only n00b comment about those things: if these "chips" cost that kind of money, save that large amount of fuel and they are so easy to implement, why not any car manufacturer has put anything similar on their cars during production especially at $4 a gallon? (scratch)

That would be the obvious thought, even if you didn't understand any technical details of the "chip" at all. Common sense.

I will elaborate a bit on what would differentiate one of these ebay "chips" from a real chip or programmer.

The ebay chip just splices into one sensor's wiring and through a voltage mod, it changes the signal that goes from that sensor to the computer.

A real chip or programmer, like something you'd get from SuperChips, Cobb, Dinan, etc...these are devices that actually alter the mapping of your car's computer system. The computer has timing maps, fuel curve maps, throttle pedal maps, boost maps (some cars), and many more. These maps all work with eachother in the computer's brain and give the best combination of what the car needs. When temperatures change in coolant, air, when fuel gets more knock prone, sooooo many variables to list....things will change. That's how our cars run so well no matter what conditions are occuring.

The developers of these real chips spend months or even years working on altering these numbers to make something more ideal occur (like more power, more MPG, etc) They also monitor the vehicles under many conditions as they make these changes. They use sensors all over the place that are even more sensitive that the ones on the car itself. It's a very long, but careful process, that results in something they can sell without too much worry it will damage a vehicle. Though it can still happen and in most cases, will void your warranty as well.

That's why a real chip or programmer costs $250, $500, even $1000. It's not a big ripoff scheme. But the $30 chips....they ARE a ripoff scheme.

[straw10]

Rex,

I have the address, but it won't show up in the signature. My name is the same straw10 on cleanmpg.com

[coolmazda5]

sooooo many variables to list....things will change. That's how our cars run so well no matter what conditions are occuring.

The developers of these real chips spend months or even years working on altering these numbers to make something more ideal occur (like more power, more MPG, etc) They also monitor the vehicles under many conditions as they make these changes. They use sensors all over the place that are even more sensitive that the ones on the car itself. It's a very long, but careful process, that results in something they can sell without too much worry it will damage a vehicle. Though it can still happen and in most cases, will void your warranty as well.

That's why a real chip or programmer costs $250, $500, even $1000. It's not a big ripoff scheme. But the $30 chips....they ARE a ripoff scheme.

Yeah, I hear ya, my first student cars used carburetor and I can tell you that fine-tuning was really fine-tuning during those days :D. I used to live on a high altitude city and when going to the beach with friends (sea level) the car would feel/drive completely different, to even the point of misfiring or failing to start in the mornings at the 1st try. Now the ECU/sensors/blah/blah do a lot for this, to the point of not perceiving altitude nor different driving styles. And the price for those real chips/programmers (if doing the right thing w/o breaking something else) would really change car production costs if you ask (ugh)

Anyway, keeping on topic, I just have to be alert on tire pressure and eventual service at this point to keep decent MPG, not bad after all. I could go much higher on MPG I guess but I cannot just drive very lightly on a Manual Transmission car :D

[rweatherford]

Rex,

I have the address, but it won't show up in the signature. My name is the same straw10 on cleanmpg.com

Copy and paste this into the end of your sig.


http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/2380.png

To get this...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/2380.png

You can also do this and a few other options if you search around over there.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/cha907.png

For the E30 mileage hit.... The tanks in May are mixed E30. I don't see much of anything..... The 36 MPG tank is the STL trip by myself with a full grille block on the way down and AC use on the way back with a passenger and luggage. Cruise on the way back set on 60 MPH. I had 40 MPG when I pulled into the airport.

Here is a history option.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/his907.png



More info on my log here (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=907).

[straw10]

Thanks...I think I forgot the extra slash at the end.

[flamtap]

My first tank on a '09 sport MT came to 24.7 mpg for purely city driving.

I may try to drive "nicer" for a tank sometime to see how well I can do.

My office is moving in a few weeks and my commute will involve more highway travel then, so hoping to see even better numbers. Although that move involves driving about 20 more miles a day so it won't be saving me any $$.

flamtap

[coolmazda5]

My first tank on a '09 sport MT came to 24.7 mpg for purely city driving.



Same number reported from wife yesterday, 2008 Mazda5 MT US, purely city driving as well (that poor thing does not know what 5th gear is, will work on that (laugh))

[Ogre]

2008 Touring AT A/C blasting all the time.

We have seen right around 25 mpg on 2 tanks with city, rural driving mix.
I was very happy to see 28 mpg on a 600 mile round trip driving 80mph and with 80 miles of 6 passenger city/rural use in that mix as well.

I was quite surprised how low the AT equipped 5 tachs on the highway.
Almost as low as my V8 truck. I was well under 3K @ 80 as I remember.
All other 4 cyls I have owned are well over 3K, some into 4K at that speed.

[Redlinez]

These things are decent, but our 08 Honda Odyssey did get 26mpg going from Raleigh NC to Gatlinburg TN with me driving 75-84 the whole way with ac on. Honda and GM have got gas mileage figured out IMHO. Our old Mazda6 wagon 5A average 22mpg and got 26mpg on highway drives loaded down to Florida.

[dfskinner]

Anyone seen or heard anything about the "Hydrogen Boost Cell"? I'm thinking of installing it on my 5 to see if I can double the MPG.......

[sunrun176]

Anyone seen or heard anything about the "Hydrogen Boost Cell"? I'm thinking of installing it on my 5 to see if I can double the MPG.......

Uhh... Not to rain on your parade, but I smell snake oil. I googled "Hydrogen Boost Cell" and found a number of different vendors of these systems.

Don't ya think if this technology really worked as well as is claimed by the vendor that it would've been picked up by a major automaker, especially in this new wave of interest in fuel efficiency?

Then there's the distinct possibility that this could give Mazda a ready excuse to refuse warranty coverage for anything touched by the install should you have engine problems afterward. As a matter of fact, one of the sites says, "Start off with an older car or truck. I don't recommend to install one of these in a any new car, it may void your warranty. These boosters are meant to mend an old car." (emphasis mine) (from http://waterpoweredcar.com/hydrobooster2.html, which is about building one yourself as opposed to buying a kit with a highly questionable money-back guarantee)

Basically, I wouldn't do it, man.

IDK.. Maybe it's just that I'm a skeptic at heart. (dunno)

[OC PATRICK]

between 18-20 mpg, 25%hwy, with auto, 2 kids, and a wife who likes to idle w/AC

[5zoom]

I was wondering if anyone has paid attention to what MPH is best on the 5 for MPG. I find that at a constant 72mph or so I'm getting between 32-33mpg with no AC and about 27-30mpg with AC on auto. I'm basing my numbers on my own math at fill up as well as constant montioring of my scangauge. I have an 08 5AT.

[rweatherford]

Try driving about 45 MPH with the cruise off and no AC. I think you will be amazed. Perhaps you might need to be a little faster with the 5-speed.

I think 40-50 MPG could be possible by just driving slower than average. I had a 120 mile trip with the AC off and drove no faster than 60 MPH and had 40 MPG. Return trip with another passenger, luggage and AC and a little more speed netted 32 MPG.

[straw10]

Just got a tick under 32mpg with 3 or 4 30 mile runs of 75 mph (to not be late for work), the rest of the trips were about 65 on the highway...

[rweatherford]

That sounds pretty amazing.

[amcmike]

These things are decent, but our 08 Honda Odyssey did get 26mpg going from Raleigh NC to Gatlinburg TN with me driving 75-84 the whole way with ac on. Honda and GM have got gas mileage figured out IMHO.

With a tall overdrive, it makes a huge difference if it's all highway. For example, my '93 Z28 averaged 28mpg at about 75mph with 99% highway driving. (The 1% was waiting t get through the Canadian borders.)

It does seem the Ford-based engines are generally more thirsty than Hondas and GMs for some reason.

Our first tank we measured 24.3 mpg with 95% city driving on our 2009. After we get though the break-in period I hope to see even better. Most interesting will be our first long-distance trip. It would be nice to see 30mpg loaded with all our stuff.

[Sprocket]

..., and a wife who likes to idle w/AC

Just turn it off. She won't melt.

[rweatherford]

I have to brag on my wife a little. She is coming around to driving without a lead foot and is enjoying the challenge with the Scanguage. She pulled almost 38 MPG on a 20 mile trip the other day. That is almost an all time high for us. I was impressed!

[amcmike]

...and a wife who likes to idle w/AC

Wow, she sounds HOT! (rlaugh)

[5zoom]

I got 31.1 mpg with about 75% highway 25% city with my 08 5AT using the AC about 50% of the time. I think the AC usage is key in the city. Using the scangauge, you can really see how much more load it puts on the engine. It doesn't seem to have the same effect on the highway, probably due to the engine operating at a consistant efficent rate.

[rweatherford]

We completed a family trip of 39.6 miles and got 39.7 MPG. So the trip used one gallon. This is per a calibrated scanguage. That was squeezing about everything I could get out of it. The car was loaded down with 6 passengers and some Wal-Mart shopping. No AC and the max speed was 63 MPH.

[straw10]

Creeping closer to 30 mpg overall....if I can just keep the lead foot wifey away long enough, I'll get there easy...$37 to go from very empty to full is nice as well...$ 2.63 a gallon now in CT....

[rweatherford]

Last weekend we drove 140 miles on hilly roads and managed 38 MPG. On the return trip we took a 4 lane road and drove faster. Managed about 36 MPG. It's all about slowing down some. All speeds between 50-60 MPH produce over 30-40 MPG numbers.

[07MZ5SA]

That is an incredible MPG, rweatherford!

I want to try some back country road at steady 50 MPH and see what I get before winter blend.

[coolmazda5]

Managed about 36 MPG. It's all about slowing down some. All speeds between 50-60 MPH produce over 30-40 MPG numbers.

...and shutting down the engine while rolling downhill... :D

but being serious, (wow), good job, you really live on flat land, aren't ya? ;)

[rweatherford]

Actually the trip was to south central MO. I do not do any more advanced hypermiling tricks. The engine is never shut off. I will do some coasting with the engine on but it is rare. Just easy on the throttle and brakes with lower top speeds.

The terrain was split about 50/50 between flat straight roads and hilly curved roads. There are no mountains here, but it's not all flat like some areas of IL/KS/IA. The larger roads in my area are flatter. My real advantage is less traffic and not being pressured to drive as fast as when someone is stuck to your bumper wanting to pass. I usually only get about 30 MPG at 60 MPH on shorter trips.

I only post these numbers to show what a normal person driving slower can achieve with the Mazda 5. We always have 5-6 people in our car.

Google Map of Trip (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Shelbina,+MO&daddr=Hwy+CC%2FState+Hwy+CC+to:MO-124+to:MO-179+to:State+Hwy+Z%2FHwy+Z+to:Blue+Springs+DD%2FCo unty+Rd+Z-14+to:38.34758,-92.60582+to:US-54+to:Shelbina,+MO&hl=en&geocode=%3BFR8RWAIdYmiD-g%3BFc5wVQIdUmSB-g%3BFRVKUQIdBDB8-g%3BFWqPSAIdFll6-g%3BFVblRwIdeD16-g%3B%3BFXolVAId2MWF-g%3B&mra=dpe&mrcr=1&mrsp=6&sz=11&via=1,2,3,4,6,7&sll=38.355657,-92.539902&sspn=0.270302,0.595322&ie=UTF8&ll=39.104489,-91.713867&spn=2.139823,4.762573&t=p&z=8)

[5zoom]

I don't think I could get away with anything under 65 mph out here in San Diego. If you drive slower than that, the 18 wheelers will eat you alive. That being said, I've had a best trip mpg of about 36 mpg(based on a calibrated Scangauge) in my 08 5AT, but that was in moving traffic(around 60-65 mph) for about 100 miles. Traffic doesn't always move that quickly for that amount of miles out there.

[islandreamer]

2006 Mazda 5 Auto (prefered package) w/ about 33,000 miles plus at time of test.
Driving solo on flat freeway. Cruise control "On". No overtaking. Full tank. 50%tread life w/ 34 psi. 10-15 mph wind @ 75 F. And no trash/junk inside.
At 60 mph/41 mpg.
At 65 mph/39 mpg.
At 70 mph/37 mpg.
These numbers surprise the ______ out of me. Big factor is the aerodynamic shape and all aluminum engine with VVTi. I wonder how the 5 speed auto fairs.

[rweatherford]

In my experience your numbers seem a little on the high side for the upper speeds. I also have an auto. However I am always loaded down. I do run higher air pressure in the tires.

Were there other cars around you? Was the wind blowing in the same direction as your travel direction? Might explain a little for me.

Great numbers either way.

[islandreamer]

In my experience your numbers seem a little on the high side for the upper speeds. I also have an auto. However I am always loaded down. I do run higher air pressure in the tires.

Were there other cars around you? Was the wind blowing in the same direction as your travel direction? Might explain a little for me.

Great numbers either way.

Occasionally, cars/trucks pass me by since I was at a steady state. Thought about pacing a big rig for that vac effect but it could be costly. I based the wind speed on the weather report that day and should have had minimal impact. I just installed a K & N air filter, Bosch 4+ Platinum plugs and 4 Dunlop Signature Sport tires (stock size). City avg moved up from 21 to 24(alright). Will post freeway results next time(usa)

[dann & misti]

On a trip from Texas to Nebraska and back last week we averaged 30 headed north and 32 headed south! Kept the cruise set at posted 70mpg for all highway driving.

[Redlinez]

So far our best has been 28.5 with a 5 speed manual. 09 with 4450 miles on it. Drive it like grandpa, not worth running it hard as it isn't fast anyway.

[Redlinez]

My wife thinks you 30 plus mpg folks must have mathematical issues. She just drove from Raleigh NC to Warrenton VA and back and averaged 26. It was windy, but we never accelerate hard or anything that detracts from the mileage significantly. Do the 5 speed manuals get that much worse MPG?

[rweatherford]

What was her speed? Did she use cruise? What about AC? (auto setting runs AC all the time) The wind can kill the mileage too.

I got back from my 400 mile one way trip. On the way I drove locked at TPS=21 and had over 30 MPG (I think close to 32-33). The car usually hung in the 60-65 MPH area. Had to stop 6 times for potty breaks and supper.

On the way back I had the cruise set at 75 MPH and drove into a 20 MPH wind that was either head on or sideways. I stopped once. The Scanguage showed about 25 MPG.

Going with the flow speed wise over 60 MPH can kill the mileage if you are shooting for 30 + tanks. I think this car loves about 50 MPH. I think the 08's are better geared for the US market.

[straw10]

Every tank that I've stayed around 60-65 has been at 30 mpg or above. The last tank I had I drove like a madman (many 80+ mph sprints with hard acceleration) and I still turned in 26.5 mpg. I doubt there are mathematical issues, as that is my daytime job (high school math teacher...lol). I have a lifetime of 29mpg, with the hopes of getting it over 30 mpg before too long. I'm at 7K miles...averaging about 2200 miles per month. I was at 29.3, before I went nuts for the last 700 miles...

[5phreak]

I still can't get over the gas mileage you people get. I have never gotten over 26.sumthing, and usually get 23 combined. I don't drive fast.

[5zoom]

I think the reason automatics are getting better MPG(regardless of whether its a 4 or 5 speed) is the RPM. The manual cars simply turn more RPM at highway speed and thus burn more gas. The faster you go, the more RPM, the less MPG. At 70 - 72 mph, my 08 auto is turning about 2500 to 2600 RPM. A 5 speed manual is well over 3000 at the same speed. I actually did this test before buying an auto.

However, do think the manual versions do better in the city, driven properly with a scangauge. The manual allows more control over how the speed is attained/held on to than an auto. The lower gearing in the manual also allows for highway passing without downshifting.

My best MPG is 33 MPG with no passengers and no AC. I typically get between 26 and 31, depending on how much highway travel. The worst tank I've ever gotten was 22 mpg and it involved AC, lots of city driving and a car load of people.

[skylar2ups]

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/best/bestworstEPAtrucksNF.shtml


And the Kia Rondo is a midsized station wagen?
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/best/bestworstNF.shtml

[Redlinez]

No ac on or defrost. You must be right about the gearing. I'm sure she was doing 70-73mph. It averages 23.5 city stop and go driving.

[coolmazda5]

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/best/bestworstEPAtrucksNF.shtml


And the Kia Rondo is a midsized station wagen?
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/best/bestworstNF.shtml

Yes, they EPA changed the classification for the Mazda5 in 08 so it is now a 4cyl minivan like back in the nineties :D. For 06 and 07 it was something else yet never compared one-to-one with the Rondo for some reason (scratch)

[AIMWO4]

I'm getting 24.98 MPG (Lifetime)

My mileage typically dips in winter due to several factors like cold, snow, tires and idling. I usually start the engine before clearing off the snow. My typical drive is 2.3 miles to the office on ice and snow in the winter.

I have had over 30 MPG on several occasions without doing all highway mileage. My drive to Boulder (on occasion) takes me through a lot of stop and go amid some good highway stretches. My few trips to Colorado Springs net very good gas mileage despite my 80-85 MPH speeds.

[straw10]

Just dipped under 29 for the first time after 2 crazy tanks in the 26-27 range. Maybe the winter weather will get me to slow down a bit and get it back close to 30.

[coolmazda5]

Just dipped under 29 for the first time after 2 crazy tanks in the 26-27 range

Where can I get some of that crazy gas ;). I'm more in line with AIMWO4, including the eventual highway drives

[AIMWO4]

My 2008 mileage:

[straw10]

Add
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Edit or Delete
Vehicle
straw10 straw10's Vehicle 2008 MAZDA MAZDA 5 Auto(S5) 120.1 256.703 0Wh 7399.5 28.825

256 gallons 7399.5 miles so far...

[JustADude]

For the 2007 or 2008 what kind of mpg are folks getting?

Just curious...

Thanks.

[coolmazda5]

For the 2007 or 2008 what kind of mpg are folks getting?

Just curious...

Thanks.

Merged thread. Please check the other Mazda5 forum areas for these common questions, I'm sure there are already posts around :D

Thx!

[dfskinner]

Filled up in Va Beach this morning and drove 173.7 miles just before Quantico, Va....... stopped and filled the tank 5.2 gallons prior to driving the remainder of my Monday morning commute....... it seems as though my mpg are getting better, this is the second tank over 30 mpg........ 33.4 for this trip. All highway miles, traveling at about 75 mph.....

Last week it was 32.3 mpg........ I'm going to check it again next week.....

[randyl]

08, auto, with 14,000 km, a bit shy of 20mpg in Canadian winter. When average temperature is at freezing point it does get a bit better (around 22mpg). In the summer, I get around 24 mpg.

About less than 10% highway, 80% rural traffic, 10% stop-and-go.

I did get something like 30mpg in a few tanks last summer when I did like 80%-90% highway (average 70mph/115kmh).

Not as good as some of you, but I think it's still acceptable. We love this car.

[5zoom]

Just got back from trip that involved a car load of stuff plus the three of us and I still got 30mpg with the AC on the entire time.

[07MZ5SA]

Got over 30 MPG from the last ski trip. Many extended idles to melt ice/frost "inside" of windows.

[raspykart]

we've got 37,000 miles on'r and still getting a pretty solid 25 city, 28 mixed, and 30-35hwy (very speed Dependent).

[Grugster]

I'd also be interested in what year MZ5. 2008 and 9 have the 5 speed auto. Just curious...

[professorhank]

Bought used 07 GT w/4AT. About 75% city driving in SoCal. My first 4 fillups is 23.8, 22.3, 23.3, 22.9. Not quite the numbers that many of you put up but I'm somewhat satisfied considering I got about the same on my last car, an 04 Accord sedan. The 04 Accord had a 24/34 EPA MPG estimate but my real-world combined MPG with it was about the same as my 5.

[joeym509]

First 3 tanks, 26.5, 27.6, 28.3. Very satisfied as last car best i ever had was 22.2 on all highway.

[vt_miata]

Just finished running 390 miles, mostly highway, mileage was 31.4 mpg with 3 large people ( about 600lbs ) and all the associated golf gear. This was a 5spd Touring. This was mostly hills and the 5 never baulked once in 5th gear. I am VERY happy with this .

[DKaz]

I've been averaging 8.9L/100km (31 MPG Imperial, 26 MPG US) on my 5 so far, half commuting half highway. My trip to Seattle which was 90% highway mileage with A/C on most of the time was 8.1L/100km (35MPG, 29.5MPG). A week of commuting averaged me about 10.4L/100km (27MPG, too lazy to convert to US gallons) I'd like to see what I get with an upcoming summer road trip to Edmonton.

The best I did on my Corolla was 56 MPG Imperial. I'll miss the Corolla's fuel economy but oh well! I heard the 08 and 09 models use 1L/100km less fuel than the 06 and 07, I wonder how Mazda managed to do that.

[coolmazda5]

I heard the 08 and 09 models use 1L/100km less fuel than the 06 and 07, I wonder how Mazda managed to do that.

My guess is just further engine fine-tuning, nothing fancy. Also the ride feels a little bit smoother

[5phreak]

best mileage yet in two years of ownership on trip to DC last weekend - 28.75 mpg highway, driving 65-80 mph.

[Grugster]

2008 Touring Auto Tran-
25.5 mpg

[switek]

I don't know why but my mileage seems to be getting better. Odometer just rolled over 9000 miles and yesterday's road trip yielded 30.1 MPG, a personal best. This was driving 75-80 with front/rear A/C on the entire time, 3 adults and 2 kids.

2009 Touring w/auto transmission.

[DKaz]

The 08-09 Mazda 5 in Canada is rated at 33(US)MPG highway (we still use the old EPA methods here since Canadians tend to drive a bit slower), so 29MPG at 75-80 MPH and A/C on sounds about right.

Maybe all the weight of the passengers and cargo lowered the 5 altering the aerodynamics etc. and cancelling out the negative effects of all that weight! lol.

[m5pa]

First tank, 353 miles on 13.6 gallons, 26 mpg. 90% highway at 70mph cruise, PA turnpike.

Happy with that. We will miss our 06 Accord and it's 32mpg highway average, but we are very happy with our new Mazda so far.

08 Grand Touring

[AwaKeN]

Don't forget that a new car consume more gas in is first 15 000 KM (Approx)

[glennmazda5]

2007 Mazda 5 touring, 5 speed manual have had it about 5 weeks.

low of 28 mpg
high of 31 mpg

62 mile daily commute on 2 lane country roads

better than i had expected but short shift and keep revs down, most of the
time

[09GT]

Our first tank was not very good - about 18 or 19mpg (all city driving) but since then has improved to about 22mpg on average (again, 100% city). Just took our first road trip last weekend with about 320 miles each way. I logged 27mpg on the way there - that tank included about 50 miles of pre-trip city driving. On the way home, we got 29mpg, so I'm fairly satisfied so far. Speed on those highway miles ranged from 65-80mph and the A/C was on most of the time.

[just ang]

The wee one and I were at Costco this morning and our gas station there just opened up. My tank was down to 1/2 so I figured while I was there, I'd top off. I put in 6.405 gallons after having driven 176.4 miles, about 1/2 of them were freeway driving (not in traffic, 65-70 mph). So, we are looking at about 27.54 mpg.

[straw10]

Just about to turn 20k and still clinging to just over 28 MPG lifetime. I drive slower in the summer, albeit with more stuff in the car, so the numbers should inch back up to the mid 28's or close to 29.

[OldGreyMike]

Didn't bother to check MPG on first tank, but second tank was 26.9 in mixed driving on two-lane highways, lots of curves, hills, and several days of really rainy weather. I'll be delighted if this keeps up!

[amcmike]

Averaged 29mpg on a recent trip with lots of hills and curves, two adults, two children, about 300lbs of cargo, and an add-on exterior mirror (to help visibility with the rear hatch full).

[mazdaspeedster3]

My wife just averaged 30 going from Western Metro Detroit to Northern Michigan, Mackinac. She is a very reserved driver and didnt go over 70-75 and never uses to cruise control and no A/C needed for this trip. Pretty impressive I think! She was loaded with 2 bikes on the back.

[zeddy]

Third tank on my 09 gt auto 31.5 about 75% hwy

[Bennett5]

Attached is the log I've been keeping. I think the formulas are correct so have a look if interested. So far averaging just over 10 L/100km with mostly city driving of less than 20 km everyday (4 trips) and one weekly trip outta town on the hiway for 15-20 minutes drive.

[KBrian]

Just added third tank full to our new (to us) 2007 GT. 500km/50 litres for around-town and one short highway trip of 130km. 5 spd with 19000km, driven aggressively about half the time (when the wife is at work)

[Saluki]

2009 5 Sport Auto

Last fillup was 23.5 mpg all city, with AC on most of the time. My Windstar was lucky to get 17 mpg under similar conditions. I love my 5!

[KBrian]

After 5000 km (23400 total) I have averaged about 10L/100km or 28 miles per canadian gallon. Not great as this is a mix between city and highway, but it is better than the other heaps abandoned in the driveway(thumb)

[OC PATRICK]

We have a 2007 GT and can't get more than 20mpg! 75% city/25% freeway in SoCal. Any ideas how to improve? We don't drive it hard and use AC during the summer. Thanks.

[rweatherford]

We have a 2007 GT and can't get more than 20mpg! 75% city/25% freeway in SoCal. Any ideas how to improve? We don't drive it hard and use AC during the summer. Thanks.

Sitting in stoplights and short trips will kill your mileage.

We went on a 3500 mile vacation this summer and averaged a little over 30 MPG.

[KBrian]

Saw a Mythbusters episode a few years ago where they compared A/C-on fuel consumption vs windows down at 55 mph. Driving a Suburban, mileage was slightly better with A/C on and windows up. While the compressor might not be such a drag on a 5.7 l V8 compared with a 2.3l I4, it would be interesting to compare consumption for the 5.

100th post!!

[5zoom]

Just got 32mpg with my 08 5AT from San Diego to Palm Springs and back. I've got over 39K on it now and it seems to be doing a bit better in the MPG department. AC is the big issue, as I've had it turned off for a while now that it has cooled down. The AC really taxes the motor, both power and MPG wise. I think the AC makes the motor spend more time at the higher RPM's, so the MPG suffers. I bigger motor, like the 2.5 in the 3, might solve some of this problem.

[Phratt]

Hello everyone,

I have just used up more than 3/4 of a tank of my first fill up (the garage filled up the first tank of gas). I live in the Montreal area, drive something like 9 km to go to work everyday, another 9 back, do some shopping here and there and so on... For the moment, winter has not really kicked in, so I know that these are the best numbers I will get for the next couple of months. Running winter tires, on a base GS, no air stick shift...

480.7Km - 48.4L = 10.77L/100Km
(298.7miles - 12.8 gal. = 23.3Mpg)

I did about 33% Highway / 67% city driving

How's that for a Mazda5 with 818Km on the counter (508Miles)?

[amcmike]

Saw a Mythbusters episode a few years ago where they compared A/C-on fuel consumption vs windows down at 55 mph. Driving a Suburban, mileage was slightly better with A/C on and windows up. While the compressor might not be such a drag on a 5.7 l V8 compared with a 2.3l I4, it would be interesting to compare consumption for the 5.

100th post!!

I have a computer on my Element that measures engine load. Below about 50mph it's less load to have the windows down, but above 50mph the A/C puts less load on the engine.

[m5pa]

08 5 GT. Mostly city driving in the rolling hills of western PA. Averaging about 20-21 mpg 75% city. I'll take it, that's better by 1 or 2 mpg then our old 06 Honda Accord with a 4 cylinder. Currently 6000 miles on the odometer.

Best so far was 31 mpg of all highway driving. I'd love for Mazda to bring the diesel version, but I guess since the 5 is so low volume, the chances are slim. I've noticed they never advertise for the 5. Even their newest ad campaign features everything else (except Tribute and the now dead B series truck)

[Bluesideup]

The first two tanks on our 09 5AT have averaged between 24 and 25 mpg with 60/40 highway/city. I thought it would be a little better but it seems to be difficult to get a full tank.

I don't think our oxygenated socal fuel helps but we'll see how the average works out.

38k on it now.

[Phratt]

The first two tanks on our 09 5AT have averaged between 24 and 25 mpg with 60/40 highway/city. I thought it would be a little better but it seems to be difficult to get a full tank.

I don't think our oxygenated socal fuel helps but we'll see how the average works out.

38k on it now.

Hello Bluesideup.

I do not know from what part of the world you are from, but here in Montreal, Canada - in December winter with remote starting the vehicle - 24-25Mpg is decent, especially on a brand new Mazda5 with 38K on it.

The best I got for now is 24.8 US Mpg 50% highway / 50% city driving WITH winter tires. The tires do make a difference - believe me.

I have kept a log of all my other cars fuel consumption, and I can definitely say that if you compare a 2008 Hyundai Accent's MPG and the 2009 Mazda5's, there is (in winter) a difference of only 0.4 US Mpg. Not bad for a 2.3L engine vs a 1.6L... AND a difference in weight.

In summer, with the appropriate tires, I have yet to find out.

As in most cars I have owned, the consumption will get better. Between 10,000 and 15,000 miles, the consumption will stabilize. Then you shall know the real consumption for your type of driving.

One thing I can definitely say - the Mazda5 has a fine line when it comes down to having a bit of a lead foot.

I zoomed it a bit much once for "testing purposes" (nailbyt) - 20.8 US Mpg

[petitevan]

On my last road trip, a full tank of gas got me 350 miles (round trip) with almost a quarter left. Since the last quarter usually goes fast than the first three quarters, I would say the full tank would have gotten me close to 400 miles. It was 50% highway (between 65 and 70 MPH, occasionally at 75) and 50% reduced highway speed (between 35 and 60 MPH on winding mountain road climbing to over 6000 FT elevation).

Normally I get about 350 miles from each fill-up, and I always fill before the lights comes on, so it's about 12 or 13 gallons each time. I've had the car for almost 11 months now and already put 21,000 miles on it. Say my monthly average is 2,000 miles, which translates into about 6 fill-ups for me, with each fill-up costing about $40, the total cost per month is about $250. I am pretty happy with the MPG on this car, is there still room for improvement?

[Phratt]

On my last road trip, a full tank of gas got me 350 miles (round trip) with almost a quarter left. Since the last quarter usually goes fast than the first three quarters, I would say the full tank would have gotten me close to 400 miles. It was 50% highway (between 65 and 70 MPH, occasionally at 75) and 50% reduced highway speed (between 35 and 60 MPH on winding mountain road climbing to over 6000 FT elevation).

Normally I get about 350 miles from each fill-up, and I always fill before the lights comes on, so it's about 12 or 13 gallons each time. I've had the car for almost 11 months now and already put 21,000 miles on it. Say my monthly average is 2,000 miles, which translates into about 6 fill-ups for me, with each fill-up costing about $40, the total cost per month is about $250. I am pretty happy with the MPG on this car, is there still room for improvement?


Hi Petitevan,

J'espère que ça va bien...

Those are decent highway numbers.

One question struck me while reading your post. Have you thought of or are you using full synthetic oil? This should space out oil changes and save you time and money. Did you do the math? If so, what is the bottom line answer.

[Davebert]

On my recent trip from Montreal to Toronto I got 8.04L/100KM (29.25 US MPG) in slushy weather and 7.4L/100KM (31.8 US MPG) on the way back on dry and bear road. It is an auto 06 GT with 110,000 KM.

[chief_wiggum]

08 5 GT. Mostly city driving in the rolling hills of western PA. Averaging about 20-21 mpg 75% city. I'll take it, that's better by 1 or 2 mpg then our old 06 Honda Accord with a 4 cylinder. Currently 6000 miles on the odometer.

Best so far was 31 mpg of all highway driving. I'd love for Mazda to bring the diesel version, but I guess since the 5 is so low volume, the chances are slim. I've noticed they never advertise for the 5. Even their newest ad campaign features everything else (except Tribute and the now dead B series truck)

+1 for diesel but agree the chances are very slim.

[petitevan]

Hi Phratt,

I've been told to use synthetic oil so I'm hoping that it has helped. Also plan to install a K&N filter but not sure what that does to the vehicle's performance or gas mileage. In terms of bottom line numbers, my average MPG is close to 30 when I keep a speed of 65 (90% highway and 10% local). There are too many crazy drivers on the highways I use to commute daily and I found that driving at 65 in the right lanes gives me sufficient time to respond to any dangerous situation and results in the least stress. :)

[KBrian]

38k on it now.

Have you logged 38000 miles on your 09 already, Bluesideup?

If so, are you sleeping in it (JK)(eek2)

[mpvue]

just got home, round trip PA to LA (Louisiana). about 1300 miles one way. family of 5 w/ a roof top box. my wife is from LA so we stock up on local food and fresh seafood. we got gas THIRTEEN times, including one this morning before heading off to work. best tank was 29.2, worst (and I can't figure this one out) was 19. I'm thinking I didn't get filled up completely, or the pump was bad, because all the other fill ups yielded 24.5 to 29.2. but, even w/ the 19mpg figured in, overall trip mpg was 25.6.
lots of pumps were labeled 10% ethanol, and the terrain varied QUITE a bit (mountains, cities, flat, local) and WIDE temperature variances (18* to 55*). and, there was plenty of high speed hwy, 70-75, and a good amount of 80mph. we only got down to 60-65 once we were back up north.
we had a lot more weight on the return trip, but mpg was basically unaffected. I haven't done a road trip w/o the box, but I'd have to assume it is losing 2-3mpgs w/ it.
now that we have 4500 miles on the 5, she's getting closer to be being broken in, and I'll see what she does commuting to work.

[switek]

Thanks for posting your report. I had similar results from a recent trip loaded with 4 people and the factory roof box. I got between 24 and 25 mpg consistently.

[lindsayt]

We picked up our 5 with 54 miles on the odometer on Dec. 17. We put 400 miles on it around town, during which time I wasn't tracking mileage. Then, with a freshly-full tank of gas we set off on a 600-mile trip south to St. Louis.

It was cold on the trip - we started out at -5 F in Minneapolis and end at +19 F in St. Louis - but since it was all high-speed highway mileage the car should have been amply warmed up within the first few minutes so that shouldn't factor in. Two adults and a 5-year-old, plus a back full of stuff but not heavy stuff.

Anyway, we got ~25-26 mpg on the highway for that trip south. Our Elantra would have gotten 33 or 34, and the EPA claims 28 so I was a bit disappointed. Just three tanks of gas means there are a lot of variables that could make the number inaccurate, but it shouldn't be wildly off so i was a little disappointed; not terrible.

While in St. Louis we bought the Mazda roof rack, a Thule Ascent 1100 box, and a Peloton bike rack to haul back a variety of things from my parents' house, including a bicycle. We did *not* get a wind deflector for the front of the rack. On the way back, with the bike and box up there in similar weather, we got an abysmal 20 mpg - and that's based on four fill-ups so still maybe not totally accurate, but good enough for a general idea.

In town since the trip I'm averaging about 21 mpg on streets, which is pretty good given that we live 2 miles from work and do a lot of stop-start driving - so I'm surprised at the lousy freeway mileage. I understand the rack condition is asking a lot, but still I would have expected 28 or 29 on the freeway with a clear roof, 23 or 24 with the stuff up there, and 21 around town. At least around town I'm happy, and that's most of our driving.

We drive 70 - 75 on these highways, all divided highway and on cruise the whole way.

I know with motorcycles it's normal to see reduced mileage until the engine is fully broken in but I've never seen that with cars before; so I'm hoping my mileage will improve as the car breaks in but I'm not counting on it.

[mpvue]

We picked up our 5 with 54 miles on the odometer on Dec. 17. We put 400 miles on it around town, during which time I wasn't tracking mileage. Then, with a freshly-full tank of gas we set off on a 600-mile trip south to St. Louis.

It was cold on the trip - we started out at -5 F in Minneapolis and end at +19 F in St. Louis - but since it was all high-speed highway mileage the car should have been amply warmed up within the first few minutes so that shouldn't factor in. Two adults and a 5-year-old, plus a back full of stuff but not heavy stuff.

Anyway, we got ~25-26 mpg on the highway for that trip south. Our Elantra would have gotten 33 or 34, and the EPA claims 28 so I was a bit disappointed. Just three tanks of gas means there are a lot of variables that could make the number inaccurate, but it shouldn't be wildly off so i was a little disappointed; not terrible.

While in St. Louis we bought the Mazda roof rack, a Thule Ascent 1100 box, and a Peloton bike rack to haul back a variety of things from my parents' house, including a bicycle. We did *not* get a wind deflector for the front of the rack. On the way back, with the bike and box up there in similar weather, we got an abysmal 20 mpg - and that's based on four fill-ups so still maybe not totally accurate, but good enough for a general idea.

In town since the trip I'm averaging about 21 mpg on streets, which is pretty good given that we live 2 miles from work and do a lot of stop-start driving - so I'm surprised at the lousy freeway mileage. I understand the rack condition is asking a lot, but still I would have expected 28 or 29 on the freeway with a clear roof, 23 or 24 with the stuff up there, and 21 around town. At least around town I'm happy, and that's most of our driving.

We drive 70 - 75 on these highways, all divided highway and on cruise the whole way.

I know with motorcycles it's normal to see reduced mileage until the engine is fully broken in but I've never seen that with cars before; so I'm hoping my mileage will improve as the car breaks in but I'm not counting on it.

take a look at my report (maybe a mod could merge this)
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123763442
I did my whole trip w/ a roof box, and total avg was 26, best was 29.

[lindsayt]

Do you have a picture of your 5 with the box up top? In looking at the picture of my 5 with the box I see I have the box a good deal forward of the roofline, which I surmise might have a significant effect on gas mileage. Next time I'll see how far I can put it back, in hopes of getting it more in the airstream of the car. But a picture would be great; here's mine for comparison:

[thaxman]

and, there was plenty of high speed hwy, 70-75, and a good amount of 80mph. we only got down to 60-65 once we were back up north.


What kind of rpms were you pulling up there @ 80 mph? I wonder, b/c I top 4000 rpm w/my '06 Touring MT. I searched, and it seems that the tranny remain unchanged from '06-'09, but on 500 mi round trip on the flat Western desert (w/AC, mind) we got almost 25 1 time, but were getting 21.5 as an average in resultant trips. Actually stopped taking it, switching to the Accord wagon for a guaranteed 25 mpg every time. This is W/O a box.

[mpvue]

What kind of rpms were you pulling up there @ 80 mph? I wonder, b/c I top 4000 rpm w/my '06 Touring MT.
IIRC RPMs @ 70 are around 3500 maybe? so I'm sure @ 80 its at least 4K.

here's the only picture I took w/ the box mounted:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4257902094_0f5fcb0e03.jpg

[rweatherford]

I've noticed that the 5 seems to be sensitive to temp, tire pressure and speed the most. I can tell when one of my tires gets down to 30 PSI vs the 50 I normally run it. It sounds crazy, but I can tell. Had a nail in my tire. If you drive 60 MPH on the highway you are almost certain to get 30+ MPG if the tires are inflated and it's not below 20F. 75 MPH will almost always be < 27 MPG. I was tracking almost every tank for a year or two.

[coolmazda5]

take a look at my report (maybe a mod could merge this)


Done

[AIMWO4]

Last year...

[mpvue]

What kind of rpms were you pulling up there @ 80 mph? I wonder, b/c I top 4000 rpm w/my '06 Touring MT.

checked more carefully this afternoon. 3500rpm @ 75mph. about 3750rpm @ 80mph. 5th gear of course.

[WhiteStar III]

checked more carefully this afternoon. 3500rpm @ 75mph. about 3750rpm @ 80mph. 5th gear of course.
4 speed auto and I'm at 3500rpm @ 80mph

[mazdaspeedster3]

4 speed doesnt do as well for highway miles. Those 5 speeds save a ton of revs at 70.

[Dellerane]

2010 Mazda5 with auto trans,

I do service work and the Mazda5 is my new service vehicle. I've had it for about 3 weeks and have close to 3000 miles on it already. Driving is a mix of city and suburbs, been averaging about 26 miles a gallon although I backed off on the lead foot last tank and got it to 28 mpg. I took out the center captains chairs to lighten it up a bit but the weight is probably close to the same once all my tools are in.

[WhiteStar III]

4 speed doesnt do as well for highway miles. Those 5 speeds save a ton of revs at 70.
Agree which is why I'm surprised I'm pulling lower rpms at those speeds.

[rweatherford]

Agree which is why I'm surprised I'm pulling lower rpms at those speeds.

He was talking about the 5-speed auto. The numbers posted were for a manual.

[AzB]

I finally got over 30mpg today! Woo hoo! We're on a trip so it was almost all highway, but there was a small amount of city driving.

30.5 mpg. 2010 Mazda5 with auto.

Az

[fam]

Averaging 27 for the last 3 years. 80% hwy, onramps are my racetrack.

[mpvue]

we have around 7K miles now, and the last few tanks we're getting mid 23mpg. it's our only car right now, I carpool w/ it 2or 3 times/wk, local errands w/ my wife driving it otherwise. so a good mix, not sure about %.
hope to improve a little once winter blend gas runs out.

[ljmattox]

What I've seen with our 5 so far...2010 Sport M/T

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_7tLqlNOeMfw/S5pm1pgdwyI/AAAAAAAAARQ/tHOO95Axl2M/Kysoku%20fuel%20economy%2010.03.12.jpg

Very pleased so far. We live on the west edge of metro St. Louis, so going anywhere is typically 5 mins to a highway, drive awhile at 65, 5 minutes to the address. IOW, about 80-90% highway.

I checked tire pressure today...39psi cold all around. I'll leave it alone for now, we think it rides great compared to what we had, even if that's a bit above the 34 psi posted on the doorframe.

[tortugazoom]

Currently have conventional oil in there from the oil change the used car dealer performed. I will be switching to synthetic Penzoil Ultra 5W-20 next oil change. That should give me a good baseline for my MPG numbers with conventional oil. Car has roughly 12,000 miles currently. I drop some Gumout fuel injector cleaner in with this tank.

Loving the 10.5 MPG gallon increase over the V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was my wife's daily driver before the 5.

[MarvinM02]

Have been looking at getting a 5 for the wife and love all these numbers.....except the gas prices for all the U.S. posters. Converting our litres to U.S. gallons and the fact that the $ is at almost par, I'm paying the equivalent of $3.80/gal and i know it's higher in other parts of Canada.

[thaxman]

checked more carefully this afternoon. 3500rpm @ 75mph. about 3750rpm @ 80mph. 5th gear of course.


Made 2 trips recently. Confirmed the above. Basically, 5 mph = 2500 rpms, roughly; 5 speed manual. So now I have a reason to not exceed 80 mph. (angel)

[A1an]

Went through my first tank on my newly purchased '06 autotragic this weekend. Most of it was highway with a maybe 10% bumper to bumper and city driving. Averaged 28mpg.

[Phratt]

Have been looking at getting a 5 for the wife and love all these numbers.....except the gas prices for all the U.S. posters. Converting our litres to U.S. gallons and the fact that the $ is at almost par, I'm paying the equivalent of $3.80/gal and i know it's higher in other parts of Canada.

Hi Marvin,

First thing I must say is that I found out (you probably already knew this) that the MPG here in Canada is like the one found in the UK, not in the USA. Let me compare something with you... 2 vehicles - different categories - different engines - different size.

I used to own a Hyundai Accent 2007 stick shift - basic model - no options.
Now I own a Mazda5 2009 stick shift - basic model - no options.

I live in Montreal - 75% of my driving is in town, 25% highway (105Km/h).


Let's talk gas numbers :

I drive about 18 000 Km per year.

- Winter average with the Hyundai : 9.5L/100Km (24.7 US Mpg - 29.6 UK Mpg)
- Winter average with the Mazda : 10.0L/100Km (23.8 US Mpg - 28.6 UK Mpg)

Best tank (3 years of ownership) in the Hyundai : 8.5L/100Km (27.6 US Mpg - 33.1 UK Mpg)
Best tank (so far) in the Mazda : 7.9L/100Km (29.7 US Mpg - 35.7 UK Mpg)

At the end of the month with gas prices in Montreal (average of 1.11$/L), so far it costs me about 10 bucks more per month than with the Accent.

As for bang for the buck - what a world of difference for 10 buck a month !!


How much does gas go for in your area?

[DeoreDX]

First whole tank on my normal driving, which is about 80% interstate @ 75mph and 20% city driving. I got 26.1mpg out of that tank. '07 with 80k+ on the clock. I'm estatic coming from a Tahoe getting 15.5mpg (headbang)

[Robotaz]

Each time I try to determine mileage with this car I become less confident in the numbers. This thing either doesn't fill all the way up or comes spewing out all over the side of the car. It's never the same thing twice. I'm convinced a scan gauge is the only way to even approximate usage accurately. People say that get good numbers by looking at gallons added versus mileage. I don't believe it. I've been doing this for too long and gotten way too whacky of numbers from this car to believe experiment-based numbers any more. It really drives me nuts. I have to say though, I hate having to go wash my car because the gas tank is poorly designed more than I hate not being able to determine the gas mileage. The worst is when my fiancee drives around for days before telling me that it poured out all over the side of the car. And of course she's too lazy to just clean it herself.

[Heat]

Each time I try to determine mileage with this car I become less confident in the numbers. This thing either doesn't fill all the way up or comes spewing out all over the side of the car. It's never the same thing twice. I'm convinced a scan gauge is the only way to even approximate usage accurately...
Go ahead and fill up your tank today till the nozzle shuts off, then add a little more if you want. Write down your mileage and date on a piece of paper, keep that in your glovebox.

Everytime you add gas for the next few months write down the number of gallons including the numbers past the decimal point, the car's mileage, and the date. You'll have accurate numbers. The amount of gas that spills over the side or "could be added" is minimal when you are talking about many tankfuls.

By the way, I went through a tankful last weekend, mostly interstate at 70mph to 75mph - only got between 25 and 26 mpg. Not bad, but not good. 5-speed manual. For comparison, in my '99 Honda Accord I get 28 to 29 mpg regularly in mixed city/highway driving (also a 5-speed manual).

[mpvue]

my wife doesn't always reset the odo when she fills up, but when I'm doing it, we are always around 25mpg. that's mixed, hwy and local. it's our only car, I'm hwy carpooling 2 or 3 days/wk.

[Robotaz]

Go ahead and fill up your tank today till the nozzle shuts off, then add a little more if you want. Write down your mileage and date on a piece of paper, keep that in your glovebox.

Everytime you add gas for the next few months write down the number of gallons including the numbers past the decimal point, the car's mileage, and the date. You'll have accurate numbers. The amount of gas that spills over the side or "could be added" is minimal when you are talking about many tankfuls.

By the way, I went through a tankful last weekend, mostly interstate at 70mph to 75mph - only got between 25 and 26 mpg. Not bad, but not good. 5-speed manual. For comparison, in my '99 Honda Accord I get 28 to 29 mpg regularly in mixed city/highway driving (also a 5-speed manual).

No, I won't have accurate numbers. I know how to check MPG (using the odometer) and have a degree in math and in engineering. I check the mileage on every vehicle I own and have for over 20 years now. This car is different than all others.

I checked the mileage for the first 15,000 miles and never got a reasonable response. I'd get 32 in the city and 22 on the highway. It has to do with the shape of the tank and the neck. The slightest angle change causes the messed up neck shape to not fill the tank completely. Also, I'm not saying that the spilling affects the numbers. I'm saying the spilling is proof that the neck/tank design is crap, confirmed by all of the gas cap, tank, and neck replacements on these cars. "Real world" numbers on these cars are bogus numbers. I'm not the only person who feels that way because every owner i've ever talked to in person confirmed the same. I just say it gets about 25 MPG and call it done now.

[mpvue]

I checked the mileage for the first 15,000 miles and never got a reasonable response. I'd get 32 in the city and 22 on the highway. It has to do with the shape of the tank and the neck. The slightest angle change causes the messed up neck shape to not fill the tank completely. Also, I'm not saying that the spilling affects the numbers. I'm saying the spilling is proof that the neck/tank design is crap, confirmed by all of the gas cap, tank, and neck replacements on these cars. "Real world" numbers on these cars are bogus numbers. I'm not the only person who feels that way because every owner i've ever talked to in person confirmed the same. I just say it gets about 25 MPG and call it done now.
huh. haven't had an issue yet. we almost always go to the same station, never had a spill, and always takes the amount I expect it to. I just know that if I'm between 275-300 miles, it's going to take around 12 gallons, every time.
we did a big road trip soon after we got it, however, and there was one fillup where it didn't take as much, and when I did the math, it showed 19mpg, on a trip that had a best of 29, and all others were in the mid to high 20's.

[Robotaz]

What year is yours mpvue?

[mpvue]

What year is yours mpvue?
'09 sport manual

[Robotaz]

'09 sport manual

Mine's an '09 too. Oh well, I quit trying to explain what is wrong with this car a long time ago. As I was saying, these cars have bigger issues than gas tanks that spew gas all over the side of the car, which is kinda sad really.

[8.5x11]

First tank through the brand new 2010 Sport 5sp came out to be 22.898mpg. A little less than I was hoping for but not bad when I wasnt used to the clutch and now Im realizing this gearbox is geared pretty low through all the gears meaning I was shifting way later than I should have been and running the RPMs too high for a best mileage situation. I calmed down the RPMs for the second tank and am hoping to see more like 28mpg...

[Robotaz]

First tank through the brand new 2010 Sport 5sp came out to be 22.898mpg. A little less than I was hoping for but not bad when I wasnt used to the clutch and now Im realizing this gearbox is geared pretty low through all the gears meaning I was shifting way later than I should have been and running the RPMs too high for a best mileage situation. I calmed down the RPMs for the second tank and am hoping to see more like 28mpg...

You're not going to see 28 unless you're out on the highway the whole time, or if you're hypermiling, which is extremely boring.

[8.5x11]

You're not going to see 28 unless you're out on the highway the whole time, or if you're hypermiling, which is extremely boring.

Saving money isnt boring... I dont need to be ripping through every turn or be trying to beat every person next to me at a red light. I bought a micro-van. If I didnt care about mileage and saving money and flatout performance mattered to me I would've bought a Speed3 for a few more dollars...

[chief_wiggum]

Just got back from first test of hwy mpg going from the greater St Louis area to Santa Claus, IN (Holiday World ROCKS!) and back. the car was loaded with my wife and I and our two daughters, the back was full enough to make the back window unusable, A/C on auto, cruise set between 70 and 75, the car got 29.4mpg. This was on a green engine (turned 1000 miles on the way home). I'm very pleased.

[Robotaz]

Saving money isnt boring... I dont need to be ripping through every turn or be trying to beat every person next to me at a red light. I bought a micro-van. If I didnt care about mileage and saving money and flatout performance mattered to me I would've bought a Speed3 for a few more dollars...

Hypermiling the 5 is very laborious because of the fact that the engine works so hard at lower speeds to get the speed up that you are not actually saving gas, but wasting it. I've tried it and I only got in everyone's way.

I baby our 5 big time and don't believe that going slower will do anything other than hurt mileage because the little 4 banger is in a lower gear. If you flip it over to the fake manual shift you can make it go into higher gears, but in my opinion it is a waste of time and energy because it saves a negligible amount of gas, if any (which I doubt). I do not, by the way, ever rip through turns or try to beat anyone to a redlight. I'm am usually the slowest of all of the cars around me. I do however try to get the car in a higher gear so that inertia assists the engine.

My opinion is that driving slow in lower gears hurts the gas mileage, especially in the 5 due to engine size and weight.

[High5er]

2006 4-speed automatic, purchased Dec 06 in California (and remember we have tougher emission standards here).

Exactly 3-1/2 years later my totals are:

17833 miles (yup, only that many; I try not to use much gasoline....)
682.119 gals
= 26.14 mpg

I always fill the tank till the nozzle shuts off, and I don't "top off."

[Silentnoise713]

Just rented a 5 for 3 days.

2009 Sport Auto+fake shift with 33K.

Drove it kind of hard in a mix of suburban roads and highway.
Total 55.3 miles and filled up was 3.32 gallons = 16.6 MPG!! (nailbyt)

[KBrian]

I don't know about you, but when I rent a car, I put as little fuel as I can into the tank when returning it to the agency. Just has to appear to have a full tank. I definately do not squeeze absolutely every possible drop of fuel into that tank. I bet you could put at least three more galllons into the tank of my returned rental car. Never been called on it, nor charged extra on my credit card (so far).

[drdiaboloco]

No, I won't have accurate numbers. I know how to check MPG (using the odometer) and have a degree in math and in engineering. I check the mileage on every vehicle I own and have for over 20 years now. This car is different than all others.....I'm not the only person who feels that way because every owner i've ever talked to in person confirmed the same. I just say it gets about 25 MPG and call it done now.
For someone who claims to have a degree in math and engineering, and has tracked mileage for over 20 years, I find it odd you don't seem to understand averages.

No matter how wacky pen-and-paper mileage readings may be on a single tank (and they're NOT in my case), over a period of time and multiple top-offs you will get a very accurate sense of what your vehicle is capable of. The shape of the fuel filler neck or the tank, the slope of the spot where you fill up on a given day, short fills, whatever... If you start with a tank that is basically full, track your mileage and fuel top-offs over a period of multiple tankfuls, end with a tank that is basically full, and in the end you will have as accurate a representation of your mileage as can possibly achieve within the obvious limitations of not knowing if the pumps you've used are perfectly calibrated (and, of course, the accuracy of your odometer). You started with a full tank, you ended with a full tank, and the only variability is a gallon or two at most from start to end, depending upon where you stopped adding fuel at the beginning and the end... Use 20 or more tanks and that introduces a very, very small error. Even if you only added 1 gallon 250 times, you still used more or less exactly the same amount of fuel in your driving as in the case of 20 12.5gal fillups (of course more frequent fillups insert more errors, but those errors are minimal too).

You claim to have all these experiences with fuel spilling all over the place. I don't know if it's the pumps where you live, but I've had a little seep maybe one fillup in ten. Total of all those overflows? I dunno... Maybe half a pint? Probably less? In your case I don't know but it's doubtful it's more than a few ounces at a time, if even that much, unless there's something very, very wrong. A little gas can look like an awful lot when it's dripping down your fender flare... And what's even FIVE oz. (aka- A LOT of spillage) compared to a 12gal fillup? About 1/3 of 1%. Hardly enough to throw your whole mileage spreadsheet into a tailspin. Your 25mpg average becomes... 24.92mpg. Again, statistically insignificant, and that assumes you spill nearly half a soda can's worth of gas on EVERY fillup.

Why people bother posting single-tank numbers is a mystery to me... Especially if, as in the case of the person above who rented a 5, you are using such a small amount of fuel as the basis of your calculation, possibly inserting a HUGE error in your calculation. Individual tanks are highly variable based upon the level of the last fillup vs. the level of your most recent fillup, so you need a much larger sample to get an accurate reading.

If you're so inclined, you may even throw out a portion of your highest and lowest readings as representative of the variability in individual fuel pumps (almost never 100% accurate), uncharacteristic driving styles on individual tanks (such as absolutely ALL highway or ALL in-town on a tank), weather (very hot, very cold, raining, snow), traffic or extended idling, overfills or short fills, sunspots or whatever else you can think of. Let's just say drop the top and bottom 10% and figure it from there, if such a thing makes you happy.

In any case, Robotaz, your assertion that you just default to "it gets 25mpg" is pretty close to my experience. I don't have my most recent numbers in front of me, but over the first 10k miles on my 5 (ending this past February) I've gotten a near-enough-as-makes-no-difference average of 24mpg without throwing out any unusually high or low individual numbers, using a sample of 34 fillups.

Edit: Mine is an '09 Sport with a MT

[mpvue]

In any case, Robotaz, your assertion that you just default to "it gets 25mpg" is pretty close to my experience. I don't have my most recent numbers in front of me, but over the first 10k miles on my 5 (ending this past February) I've gotten a near-enough-as-makes-no-difference average of 24mpg without throwing out any unusually high or low individual numbers, using a sample of 34 fillups.

Edit: Mine is an '09 Sport with a MT
I'm right there with ya. I don't check every tank (I think I mentioned that earlier) but I DO know that when I get to about 300 miles on a tank, it takes around 12 gal to fill it up again, little more, little less. it's mixed driving, so I'm cool with that.
robotaz for some reason wants to be all negative about the supposed design of the tank and filler neck that no one else has experienced. really don't know how you can have a spill with automatic shut off pumps. I haven't had a spill maybe once in 25 years.

[Tsuru]

I haven't had a spill maybe once in 25 years.
Funny you should mention that. I had a spill less than a month ago. There's been at least two other times since I've owned this car where a significant amount of fuel has slipped up the filler pipe and wetted the area around the fuel intake. Not enough to classify as a spill but enough to note. All three "incidents" were at different filling stations as well.
I've been recording my fill-ups on Ecomodder. Based on what I've recorded there I'd agree with the idea that the 5 is pretty sensitive to temperature changes. With summer temps here I'm getting 28+ MPG out of 60/40 city/hwy. During last winter I went as low as 22 MPG but I think that was increased by lots of stop-and-go traffic that week.

[Silentnoise713]

I don't know about you, but when I rent a car, I put as little fuel as I can into the tank when returning it to the agency. Just has to appear to have a full tank. I definately do not squeeze absolutely every possible drop of fuel into that tank. I bet you could put at least three more galllons into the tank of my returned rental car. Never been called on it, nor charged extra on my credit card (so far).
That's what the smart man/woman would do. UNLESS, you are 100%compensated for your gas, therefore, to avoid potentially missing a flight, you'd overfill the tank at a station before the airport with less people so you don't have to mess with the poo poo station right before or at the airport :D

[KBrian]

I get you. I once drove from downtown Hamilton, Ont to the airport with a light fill-up and dropped off the car with the guage still showing full (25 km, I think). I pity the next renter, who probably saw the guage drop to 3/4 of a tank as they drove out of the lot :0

[FlippyFloppy]

07 Auto 27 mpg when my wife drives it, 24ish when i do.

[Katner]

Man I forgot to report my great triumph. I drove 357.3 miles and consumed 10.2 US gallons of fuel doing so.

357.3/10.2 = 35.03mpg.

Trip was flat for most of the time. Very little wind. Speeds were around 60mph most of the time, with some stretches at speeds lower than that.

Dudes over at OdyClub are doing all sorts of things to get 25 hwy mpgs. Hahahaha.

[Robotaz]

Man I forgot to report my great triumph. I drove 357.3 miles and consumed 10.2 US gallons of fuel doing so.

357.3/10.2 = 35.03mpg.

Trip was flat for most of the time. Very little wind. Speeds were around 60mph most of the time, with some stretches at speeds lower than that.

Dudes over at OdyClub are doing all sorts of things to get 25 hwy mpgs. Hahahaha.

Let me guess, you've only filled it up a few times? I got 37 MPG once, LOL. Then I got 19 in the same conditions. Wonder why.

[Heat]

...Why people bother posting single-tank numbers is a mystery to me...
Reminds me of people on a different forum I belong to (for Hondas) who use the number of miles between fillups as their only method of determining gas mileage. They don't even look at the number of gallons they put in the tank, only how many miles they go between fillups. Weird.

Anyway, Robotaz, do you have vapor recovery pumps where you live? That would be the only reason I can think of for your issues with the gas tank. I have never had gas seep out on my Mazda5, the pump always shuts off automatically when the tank is full. OK, it has seeped once or twice, but only when I tried to "top off the tank", I figured out pretty quickly that when the pump shuts off the tank really is full on the Mazda5. We don't have the vapor recovery pumps here.

[fernando8877]

I'm getting about 24.5 on mixed driving, with a high of 28+ and low of 22.4. Then again, living in Phoenix with high heat isnt helping me much too.

[Silentnoise713]

There are too many variables that affect individual MPG calc to get a good comparison. Things such as unsprung weight (wheel and suspension), tire pressure, air temp, heavy/light foot, city vs country vs highway, constant speed vs variable, auto vs manual (gearing and coasting), elevation, headwind vs tailwind, junk in your trunk (both you and the car), etc.

I would recommend everyone to take a few minutes post their numbers on www.fueleconomy.gov (no relations obviously as it is a .gov). This will allow you to see others in your general area along with general driving condition. Also benefits the greater good of the interweb.

[Katner]

There are too many variables that affect individual MPG calc to get a good comparison. Things such as unsprung weight (wheel and suspension), tire pressure, air temp, heavy/light foot, city vs country vs highway, constant speed vs variable, auto vs manual (gearing and coasting), elevation, headwind vs tailwind, junk in your trunk (both you and the car), etc.

I would recommend everyone to take a few minutes post their numbers on www.fueleconomy.gov (no relations obviously as it is a .gov). This will allow you to see others in your general area along with general driving condition. Also benefits the greater good of the interweb.

That's very good advice for those seeking to get an impression of real-world mileage figures, and to see how they stack up to their own numbers (which is the object of this thread). But I always kind of think that these threads end up taking the turn of "who can get the best mileage from their car and brag about it?" -which is exactly what I've done with my last post here. :-).

Still, the info is not completely useless as it can turn into a bit of a competition and help people aspire to higher MPG numbers all around.

[chief_wiggum]

I would recommend everyone to take a few minutes post their numbers on www.fueleconomy.gov (no relations obviously as it is a .gov). This will allow you to see others in your general area along with general driving condition. Also benefits the greater good of the interweb.

yes, please; I'm the only one reporting 2010 numbers on there.

[xray]

Click on sig below \/

Sign up for Fuelly, guys. There's only 38 of us and I'm the only one with a 2010. You can set it for miles/kms and Gal/L for US-Canada.

[KBrian]

Just signed up for the Fuelly thing. 36 fill ups, 22 mpg average, high 28, low (OMG), and I want it to be a better ave, but small town and 5 minute commute.

A reasonable tradeoff, I suppose :)

[xray]

Cool, just click on the Fuelly badge located at the bottom of your profile screen and copy and paste and then everybody can see your real-world millage.

[KBrian]

One thousandkm over 2-500km trips. Got 28 mpg (7.9L/100km) average while flogging the hell out of the 5. Wahoo!

[jimp]

took a weekend trip for the 4th, 99% interstate driving and got 27.6 mpg from our 09 Mz5, completely stock, AC on the entire time, did the speed limit majority of the time. Not bad, not as good as my Mz3, but not bad at all imo.

[was98strat]

just did a 3000+km round trip of Quebec and PEI and averaged 8l/100km (29.4 mpg) that's with the car fully loaded and a bike hanging off the back on a hitch mount rack!

not bad considering we had a full car (2 adults, 2 kids and all their associated gear!)

[Nissanguy8]

How about a miles per tank? can it hit over 400 miles on a tank? what do you have?

[coolmazda5]

can it hit over 400 miles on a tank?

(shocked)

[Peanuts]

Hi all,

Been using gassavers.org for calculating my gas consumption, here's my stats:

http://www.gassavers.org/garage/viewgaslog/2801

Fairly poor, but I'm at least 90% stop-and-go, travelling inner-city about 3-4 times a week on trips less than 10km (around 6.5 miles), with a few weekend bike/hiking trips with cargo rack, roof bike rack, and rear rack on. No hyper-mileing techniques, just trying to be slow on the accelerator and easy on the brakes. Even so, I'm guessing that my car just doesn't have enough time to really warm up and burn fuel efficiently.

I'm planning a larger trip to Wyoming from Vancouver later this year, so we'll see what the mileage is during that trip.

[tortugazoom]

If you have a smartphone you can update right at the pump with their mobile site.

http://m.fuelly.com/

Over the past 4,688 miles, I am averaging 26.8 MPG.

On a recent road trip where I kept a keen eye on my speed (kept it under 70 MPH), I got 33.2 MPG. This is with the 4 speed auto trans.

Note: I inflate my tires to max sidewall pressure and run synthetic oil.

[Robotaz]

If you have a smartphone you can update right at the pump with their mobile site.

http://m.fuelly.com/

Over the past 4,688 miles, I am averaging 26.8 MPG.

On a recent road trip where I kept a keen eye on my speed (kept it under 70 MPH), I got 33.2 MPG. This is with the 4 speed auto trans.

Note: I inflate my tires to max sidewall pressure and run synthetic oil.

ROFL!!! I bet that makes for a nice ride. If I rode around with 44 PSIG of air in my tires I'd be spending a hundred times more on a chiropractor than I'd be saving on gas.

[tortugazoom]

ROFL!!! I bet that makes for a nice ride. If I rode around with 44 PSIG of air in my tires I'd be spending a hundred times more on a chiropractor than I'd be saving on gas.

I don't notice that much of a difference in ride quality. My stock toyo POS tires are nearly shot anyway, so I'll reevaluate when I get new tires installed. The fronts were worn pretty bad when I bought it with 12,000 miles on the odometer.

[Robotaz]

I don't notice that much of a difference in ride quality. My stock toyo POS tires are nearly shot anyway, so I'll reevaluate when I get new tires installed. The fronts were worn pretty bad when I bought it with 12,000 miles on the odometer.

OK, now I get it. When you shed those Toyos, you will experience an incredibly huge difference in ride quality and never, ever go back to the 40s again. Seriously. Go for the smoothest tires you can afford. You will be so glad you did. Our 5 has over 17,000 now and the Michelins I put on it look brand new. I put them on with 95 miles on the car and sold the junk Toyos for $125 on Craigslist.

[chief_wiggum]

Results from latest road trip, 2 adults 2 kids under 7, a beagle and lots o' luggage; 31.1 mpg (with nice tailwind) 80% interstate with cruise set at 73-75 mph and A/C on. 26.6 mpg (with a pretty stiff headwind), cruise set at 74 mph, 100% interstate with A/C on; call it a 29 MPG average. the car now has 2700 miles on it. I couldn't muster 26 with a tailwind in my CR-V, so i'm very pleased.

[mpvue]

filled up last night, 25.2mpg this last tank. hard to say percentage wise what kind of driving; it's our only car, so when it's my turn to drive, it's hwy, and when my wife has it, it's all local errands and shopping. A/C has been left on the last few weeks.

[twintrbo]

Last tank was atrocious for me. I think the guy shortchanged the fill-up on the last tank so that throws it way off but I only came up with 13 MPG!!!!! If I was shorted a gallon, its still only 14 MPG!!!! I live in the city so I literally drive by accelerating to 30 MPH and then stopping again, plus I had the a/c on the whole time. I almost never cruise at a set speed and very limited highway which is usually traffic. Personally, I think for this vehicle and the compromises it makes for efficiency, this is pathetic. I suspect its because of the relatively high weight and low power, it just works really hard to get up to speed and then I'm stopping again once I'm there. The one highway trip I did, it ran over 27 MPG so I know the mileage is there, its just not a very good pure city vehicle.

Frankly had I known this was the economy I would get, I would not have bought it. I only drive about 5000 mi/year so economy is not priority for me, but for the mileage its returning, I could be in just about anything else and get the same mileage.

And no, for those wondering, it's not my driving. This is a family car and I drive it as such. Its just not good in stop and go.

edit: I still love it, just very disappointed at the mileage numbers its returning for my usage.

[coolmazda5]

Last tank was atrocious for me. I think the guy shortchanged the fill-up on the last tank so that throws it way off but I only came up with 13 MPG!!!!! If I was shorted a gallon, its still only 14 MPG!!!! I live in the city so I literally drive by accelerating to 30 MPH and then stopping again, plus I had the a/c on the whole time. I almost never cruise at a set speed and very limited highway which is usually traffic. Personally, I think for this vehicle and the compromises it makes for efficiency, this is pathetic. I suspect its because of the relatively high weight and low power, it just works really hard to get up to speed and then I'm stopping again once I'm there. The one highway trip I did, it ran over 27 MPG so I know the mileage is there, its just not a very good pure city vehicle.


(scratch)

There might be something definitely going on there. Wife and I swap cars from time to time, and my wife usually drives the car pure city (our 06 has 31000 miles after 5 years, and the car does not see 4th gear often :)) but while the gas mileage on her side is somehow worse than my car it does not go below 21-22MPG on bad days (i.e. Summer). This happens with the 06 and the 08 (when swapping), although the 08 is better by 1-2MPG usually. Also, our gas is not a top-notch brand...

[twintrbo]

(scratch)

There might be something definitely going on there. Wife and I swap cars from time to time, and my wife usually drives the car pure city (our 06 has 31000 miles after 5 years, and the car does not see 4th gear often :)) but while the gas mileage on her side something is worse than my car it does not go below 21-22MPG on bad days (i.e. Summer). This happens with the 06 and the 08 (when swapping), although the 08 is better by 1-2MPG usually. Also, our gas is not a top-notch brand...

I might bring it in to have it looked at but I really dont think there is anything wrong. Sometimes I smell as if its running rich but there are no codes or lights and it drives just fine, no hesitation or stumbling etc....Usually its been getting at least 17 mpg so this is an anomaly, plus I filled it at a different station than normal. I usually use Hess, this tank was Sunoco. I think my best full tank was 21 mpg during the winter, but now with the A/C on, high teens is what I've been seeing.

You really have to understand my driving environment. I literally stop at every single corner, often I sit at lights at that corner for a while too. NYC does not allow right on red. I start it up and let it idle to cool it off while I load the kids. Its about as miserable as it sounds. I find the tranny tends to upshift too easily too, I might try a tank shifting it myself to see if thats hurting it as well. It seems every time I turn a corner it goes up to third and then has to downshift again to second, that cant be helping!

[mazdadude]

Last tank was atrocious for me. I think the guy shortchanged the fill-up on the last tank so that throws it way off but I only came up with 13 MPG!!!!! If I was shorted a gallon, its still only 14 MPG!!!! I live in the city so I literally drive by accelerating to 30 MPH and then stopping again, plus I had the a/c on the whole time. I almost never cruise at a set speed and very limited highway which is usually traffic. Personally, I think for this vehicle and the compromises it makes for efficiency, this is pathetic. I suspect its because of the relatively high weight and low power, it just works really hard to get up to speed and then I'm stopping again once I'm there. The one highway trip I did, it ran over 27 MPG so I know the mileage is there, its just not a very good pure city vehicle.

Frankly had I known this was the economy I would get, I would not have bought it. I only drive about 5000 mi/year so economy is not priority for me, but for the mileage its returning, I could be in just about anything else and get the same mileage.

And no, for those wondering, it's not my driving. This is a family car and I drive it as such. Its just not good in stop and go.

edit: I still love it, just very disappointed at the mileage numbers its returning for my usage.

Something is seriously wrong here. For that MPG you should be turning 300+hp under the hood. Maybe the Trip button was reset inbetween tanks? Maybe somebody siphoned off 1/2 a tank of fuel?

[Robotaz]

Last tank was atrocious for me. I think the guy shortchanged the fill-up on the last tank so that throws it way off but I only came up with 13 MPG!!!!! If I was shorted a gallon, its still only 14 MPG!!!! I live in the city so I literally drive by accelerating to 30 MPH and then stopping again, plus I had the a/c on the whole time. I almost never cruise at a set speed and very limited highway which is usually traffic. Personally, I think for this vehicle and the compromises it makes for efficiency, this is pathetic. I suspect its because of the relatively high weight and low power, it just works really hard to get up to speed and then I'm stopping again once I'm there. The one highway trip I did, it ran over 27 MPG so I know the mileage is there, its just not a very good pure city vehicle.

Frankly had I known this was the economy I would get, I would not have bought it. I only drive about 5000 mi/year so economy is not priority for me, but for the mileage its returning, I could be in just about anything else and get the same mileage.

And no, for those wondering, it's not my driving. This is a family car and I drive it as such. Its just not good in stop and go.

edit: I still love it, just very disappointed at the mileage numbers its returning for my usage.

Don't waste your money on the incorrect assumption something is wrong. I say this over and over and over...and nobody listens. Filling up at a station where you are tilted forward a couple of degrees, to the side a couple of degrees, etc. will throw your readings off badly on these 5s. The only way, I mean only way, to know what your mileage really is, is to fill up at the exact same pump, parking in the exact same spot, and top it all the way to the very top. Otherwise, the numbers are garbage and useless. I've been obsessed with gas mileage on every car I've owned for 21 years. I have never had a problem even close to the 5 with regard to filling to the same spot each time. I know without a doubt, due to experience freaking out over gas mileage, that this car is very, very hard to get good scientific data from. Like I said, the only way to do it is the way I said before. Otherwise, the numbers are just skewing reality and in my opinion not only wrong, but misleading and irritating. Evidence of what I describe is seen in the wildly varying numbers that you read on this very forum.

[joeym509]

Just finished a business trip through 5 states, city and hwy averaged 28.7. Very pleased with this no matter how much it my calculations may be "off". I just always take the total miles driven and divide it by how much fuel I just filled my tank with. I make sure to reset my trip 1 after each fill up and my numbers are always very close to what my scan guage II reports.

[mpvue]

Last tank was atrocious for me...

And no, for those wondering, it's not my driving. This is a family car and I drive it as such. Its just not good in stop and go.



judging your own driving habits is hardly unbiased. what are you using as a guide for saying "it's not my driving"? by your very description (idling while loading, lots of sitting at lights, etc) I would state is very well IS your driving.
cars waste inordinate amounts of fuel idling, and much fuel is spent getting moving from a dead stop. being familar w/ NYC driving, I also know you can't 'ease' off from a stop (lest you get rear ended or honked to death) so your acceleration from a stop is probably 'brisk'.
so, to summarize: idling extensively, A/C use, stop and go, sitting at lights, etc, is the enemy of good MPGs. get used to it.

[twintrbo]

judging your own driving habits is hardly unbiased. what are you using as a guide for saying "it's not my driving"? by your very description (idling while loading, lots of sitting at lights, etc) I would state is very well IS your driving.
cars waste inordinate amounts of fuel idling, and much fuel is spent getting moving from a dead stop. being familar w/ NYC driving, I also know you can't 'ease' off from a stop (lest you get rear ended or honked to death) so your acceleration from a stop is probably 'brisk'.
so, to summarize: idling extensively, A/C use, stop and go, sitting at lights, etc, is the enemy of good MPGs. get used to it.

Good points, what I meant by "my" driving is I'm not leadfooting. Yes the conditions I drive in are awful, but I meant its not bad from MY doing, its how the car gets used. I'm the guy people WANT to drive on trips. From all the track training I've attended and read about, its part of my daily routine to be smooth and efficient. As for red light racing, I dont take off very hard, the 08+ auto 5's move really nice off the line with the low first gear, it usually shifts before 3000 rpm on its own so i know I'm not beating it.

Oh and NYC also gives 10% methanol in the fuel so that kills it as well. I know its how I'm using the car but I'm amazed its as bad as it is considering its EPA ratings.

Finally, I'm not picking on the 5, I like it a lot and I have gotten 27+ on the highway so I know its potential, my usage just wont let it live up to it.

[coolmazda5]

Oh and NYC also gives 10% methanol in the fuel so that kills it as well. I know its how I'm using the car but I'm amazed its as bad as it is considering its EPA ratings.

A couple of years ago we had another NYC owner reporting mileage here, and it was around 18-19MPG IIRC. Definitely NYC owners would benefit from the i-stop system, damn US regulations...

[twintrbo]

A couple of years ago we had another NYC owner reporting mileage here, and it was around 18-19MPG IIRC. Definitely NYC owners would benefit from the i-stop system, damn US regulations...

I have been getting around 17-18, so this tank was way off and I really do suspect the gas station! FWIW my last car was a maxima that used to do ~20 mpg when I got it. All of a sudden it was getting ~15 and I changed a few things to try to "fix" it, short of spending $400 on new fuel injectors that were prone to leaking on that model. In the end I never got the mileage back but then I realized I lived in queens when I got it and the poor mileage coincided with my move to Brooklyn! I did more highway and less stop and go when I lived there and I really believe that was the difference. Maybe I should just move :)

[Peanuts]

I have been getting around 17-18, so this tank was way off and I really do suspect the gas station! FWIW my last car was a maxima that used to do ~20 mpg when I got it. All of a sudden it was getting ~15 and I changed a few things to try to "fix" it, short of spending $400 on new fuel injectors that were prone to leaking on that model. In the end I never got the mileage back but then I realized I lived in queens when I got it and the poor mileage coincided with my move to Brooklyn! I did more highway and less stop and go when I lived there and I really believe that was the difference. Maybe I should just move :)

Heya,

I think we've got the same driving environment, except with me out on the West Coast in Vancouver, BC. No major highways going through the city proper, and a lot of start-'n-stop traffic, and with AC usage over the last 2 months, I'm also consistently getting between 17-20 MPG.

I also tend to use a brand of fuel with a 10% ethanol blend - from what I understand (and I could be wrong), the effect on fuel economy from the 10% ethanol is miinimal vs. conventional unleaded (around 3%, quoted from a 2004 Australian study), but since I live in a wetter climate and no fuel system is 100% air-tight, could water/humidity contribute cumlatively with other factors to reduce my fuel economy?

[twintrbo]

For example, I just figured to drive my daughter to daycare there are 14 places to stop in 1.7 miles! If I need to drop my wife at the train first, its 3.7 miles with 28 stops. Keep in mind this is without stops for pedestrians, people pulling out from driveways, vehicles blocking the street with illegal K turns and inching from general traffic.

edit: My mother-in-law is 5 miles and I think its about 40 stops, give or take.

[coolmazda5]

(boom06), you are then getting a great mileage ;)

[chief_wiggum]

For example, I just figured to drive my daughter to daycare there are 14 places to stop in 1.7 miles! If I need to drop my wife at the train first, its 3.7 miles with 28 stops. Keep in mind this is without stops for pedestrians, people pulling out from driveways, vehicles blocking the street with illegal K turns and inching from general traffic.

edit: My mother-in-law is 5 miles and I think its about 40 stops, give or take.

Hybrids were created for these kinds of conditions...too bad they're not in the same price category as the 5.

[twintrbo]

Hybrids were created for these kinds of conditions...too bad they're not in the same price category as the 5.

Indeed, although they are not too much more than a fully loaded GT.....But now you know why I picked a smaller, 4 cylinder vehicle. I was expecting it to be very frugal and for whatever reason, it just does not return what I thought it would. I foolishly thought I would get the mid 20's like everyone else :)

[professorhank]

Bought used 07 GT w/4AT. About 75% city driving in SoCal. My first 4 fillups is 23.8, 22.3, 23.3, 22.9. Not quite the numbers that many of you put up but I'm somewhat satisfied considering I got about the same on my last car, an 04 Accord sedan. The 04 Accord had a 24/34 EPA MPG estimate but my real-world combined MPG with it was about the same as my 5.

I've gotten lower MPG since I wrote the above about 15 months ago. My overall average right now is exactly 22 MPG. Maybe I've gotten used to driving it in a more "spirited" manner, who knows?

Not included in the 22 MPG number above is an all-freeway 2000 mile trip I just did. 2 people and 60 lbs of outdoor gear, filled up 6 times, drove about 80 MPH all the way, and got 26.43 MPG. Both numbers are pretty close to the official EPA estimate...

[twintrbo]

Update: Finally got to take the 5 on a real highway trip. Went with the wife, 3yo, 9moo and myself aboard with a weekend of luggage including 2 strollers. We did 355 mi on 12.45 gallons. That works out to 28.5 MPG, very nice! That was about 75% interstates between 70 and 80 MPH with a few toll stops, the rest of it was on secondary back roads (US-XX and Route XX type roads) holding about 40 mph with stop and go at lights in smaller towns. All in all very pleased since this is the reason I bought this vehicle. Although it does mean that my poor in town mileage is normal, there is nothing wrong with the engine :(

[skiph]

Getting a few miles on my 2010 Sport auto now, up to 1,400.

Most of my driving is around a small town, 10-15 miles a day R/T to work, etc., looks to be in the 23+ range for that.

Finally got in some clear highway miles Friday and Sunday. About 150 miles today over a combination of crooked, hilly highway, then nicer straighter highway with some medium hills, then about 40 miles on good roads on the flat. Speeds from 45-50 in the curvy stuff, to 60-65 on the good stuff. A/C on for about 40 miles coming back home until it cooled off and wasn't needed any more.

My running average so far is up to 25.2, and today's trip yielded 31.37 mpg, but might be an 'outlier', we shall see. I might have some more short 'road trips' (~250 miles) coming up in the next week or two.

[twintrbo]

Update: Finally got to take the 5 on a real highway trip. Went with the wife, 3yo, 9moo and myself aboard with a weekend of luggage including 2 strollers. We did 355 mi on 12.45 gallons. That works out to 28.5 MPG, very nice! That was about 75% interstates between 70 and 80 MPH with a few toll stops, the rest of it was on secondary back roads (US-XX and Route XX type roads) holding about 40 mph with stop and go at lights in smaller towns. All in all very pleased since this is the reason I bought this vehicle. Although it does mean that my poor in town mileage is normal, there is nothing wrong with the engine :(

Forgot to mention that the AC was never off the entire trip :)

[m5pa]

At 13,500 miles, our 08 GT is averaging about 19-20mpg city and 25 highway. We've seen as high as 32 mpg all highway and as low as 18 around town ( lots of hills keep the 2.3 working).

[skiph]

Update of my August 8th post #727:

Now up to 2225 miles (last fill-up). Averaging 25.6 for more town driving than high-speed hwy driving. Had another tank of 30.7 mpg on mostly rural secondary hwy driving back in August. The low has been 22.4 on the 3rd fill, all others 24 to 26 for mostly commuting and short hwy miles.

This is on a 2010 Sport Auto, sometimes use the 'manumatic' mode to lock in 2nd between stop signs, slip it into neutral at long stop lights so the engine isn't working against the brakes or wanting to creep forward if you take your foot off the brakes slightly.

So far fairly happy mileage wise.

[Martyd]

We finally got to get our 5 on a decent trip. 2010 Sport with auto. No other options. I usually get 24 to 26 mpg around town.
Trip results. Two adults, luggage for 4 nights, no AC. Total trip 547 mi with 75% interstates at about 68 mph average. Not much stop and go, mostly backroads/scenic drives for the non interstate driving. With two fill ups I averaged 35 mpg. Very happy with this number and also suprised. Didn't expect it to be that good. Am I dreaming?

[ljmattox]

Just checking my "aCar" droid app, over the last 16 fillups: average 27.597 mpg.

I drive prolly 70% interstates, 65-70 mph typically, usually just me, or with my wife.

Covering 5175 miles, 16 fill up records, highest tank 30.780, lowest 23.160 (I remember that afternoon, *a lot* of fun...we were late for somewhere about 160 miles from here, and we found an Audi / Corvette 'parade' to follow to help make good time). Just clicked over 16,000 miles total since February 2010 on our 2010 Sport MT.

[reticulum]

We have done 3 fuel-ups this far. 85% Stop and Go. This is a manual transmission and the average so far is 23.7 MPG. We hope it will get better after the break-in period.

[straw10]

It should definitely get better...when I drive like a nut, I average about 25-26, then when I drive normally, I get 29-32...with the automatic and A/C on during most trips...

[rodslinger]

I just made my last run from Miami to Atlanta in my 2008 sport manual. I averaged 23.6mpg over the trip. Then again that was 694 miles running at 85+ mph almost the entire trip whever possible. A lot of WOT passing on the right for what I call the left lane retards. Those people that stick in the left doing 70.000005 in a 70 and don't understand the flash to pass concept. Approx 40 miles of construction zone traffic though very light. Stopped twice to fill up. No other breaks. 9 hours, 23 minutes. I think that was a personal best for that run.

[Rockin03mp5]

what rpms are you running at 85 mph?

and i hate the left lane retards. i always slow down while passing to give them a dirty look. they always look at me like im the stupid one.

[SuperJETT]

My wife drives our's primarily in suburban stop/go traffic and is averaging right at 20mpg. Now, that's much better than the 15 our van got, but I was hoping for better.

We haven't had a good long highway trip to check yet.

[gope1o]

I have Mazda Premacy 2000 1.8 16v 100 hp with 140000 miles on it with LPG.The result is 27 mpg(town) and 31 mpg(highway).

[RnDM5]

Ok so I have had my 5 for about 4 months now, approx 5k kms of driving. I am a fuel consumption obsessor. I drive smoothly and within the speed limit. My trips to work consist of 40% hwy and 60% city. While driving in the city I try to time lights so I don't have to stop/start often. Since purchasing the 5 I have tracked milage both on ecomodder.com and through the Gas Cubby app on my iphone. My BEST city mpg is 24.6 (9.6L/100km), average being 22.2 mpg (10.6 L/100km). EPA combined should be 23 mpg.

That all being said I was excited to go on a short road trip with my wife this past weekend both to get away from the kids and to see what the hwy mpg would be. On cruise control at 75 mph (120km/h) with 2 stops for construction I got 16.4 MPG (14.3L/100km)!!!!! I get the same if not better mpg with my brick of a '01 Xterra!

There were no obvious factors that should have caused this. Tires at 38 psi on all 4 corners, gas bought from reputable station, no head wind or hills, no aggressive passing, etc

Please help! This is ridiculous! Other owners here at the same speed/rpm (75mph @ ~2700 rpm) or even faster have turned 30+ mpg!

[chief_wiggum]

somethings not right (duh); i just did a trip with the cruise set between 70-75 (varied with T-Giving day interstate traffic and construction), in the rain, with a stiff headwind and got 27 mpg.

[RnDM5]

Wow, thats good milage compared to what I have experienced. In my case I wonder if the fuel was contaminated or something. Funny thing is though is that the 5 ran smoothly the whole time making me think that fuel contamination and engine are fine.

[flcruising]

I don't see how you can get such bad highway mpg without seeing black smoke trail behind you!?

We went on an all interstate trip to Texas 2 months ago (1600 miles round trip). Had a HUGE cargo carrier on top. Used gascubby the whole way. Averaged 26mpg. This is acceptable to me. Not great. But our last vehicle was an '00 S10 Blazer 4X4 that was lucky to get 20 mpg highway. My dd is an '00 Mitsubishi sedan automatic that I can't get less than 30 mpg in.

[mpvue]

That all being said I was excited to go on a short road trip with my wife this past weekend both to get away from the kids and to see what the hwy mpg would be. On cruise control at 75 mph (120km/h) with 2 stops for construction I got 16.4 MPG (14.3L/100km)!!!!! I get the same if not better mpg with my brick of a '01 Xterra!



I think you need to get some more data points before you assume something is wrong. when I did a LONG road trip last year (pennsylvania to louisiana) I plotted every fill up; most were 27-29, but one was like 19 and another was 31. I attributed the low one to early pump shutoff.
now, the 5 is our only vehicle, so between my commuting and my wife running errands, we get a consistant combined mpg of 23. I now know I can go about 260miles on a tank and its time to fill up.

[RnDM5]

You may be right, however the software I use doesn't rely on a FULL tank. I enter the amount purchased and then the distance travelled and i get my mpg since last purchase/recording. I could only put $10 in and it would still give an accurate mpg.

I'm not sure why the 5 was so thirsty on that trip but plan on monitoring things closely before spending $$$ to get it looked at. I may have to find a reason for another road trip! ;-)

[Rockin03mp5]

sounds like some funny math to me. somewhere, something is wrong there. ive never gotten less than 20mpg. i actually think my worst is 23.

[twintrbo]

That is really bad, I should know! I think I get the worst numbers here and you even have me beat. My worst tanks have been around 16 MPG in pure city hell, during the summer with full time A/C. The one real highway trip I took, I got over 28 MPG and that was with some rural slower back roads and 2 lane backups to get through some towns. I dont know how you did so poorly on the highway, there would have to be something really wrong with your 5 and I doubt you would not notice it. I think something got computed wrong, I dont see any other way it could be possible.

Had to ask, you did have it in 5th right? Running it in 3rd instead of 5th might do that. Sorry to even suggest it but I'm out of ideas :)

[RnDM5]

It was definately in 5th while cruising as the rpms were only 2700. I question whether its a math error as when I filled it, I reset the tripmeter and made note that the fuel guage needle was above the Full mark. I realized how quickly I was going through fuel when I had travelled about 60 mi/100km and had used just over 1/3 of a tank! Crazy.

I now wonder if the fuel float (for the fuel guage), they still use those don't they, in the tank may have been stuck falsely high.

I have driven to work the last few days and consumption seems to be back to normal but then again it always has been on my work commute. I think the only way to reassess is to drive the same 2 hr route and see what happens.

[twintrbo]

Someone in one of the threads was convinced that if the tank was filled up with the car off-level, it would not top off properly and therefore mess with mileage calculations. I would say it is possible. I noted my last tank did almost 40 miles before the gauge began to drop from Full. Since the 5 has a fairly small tank, there can be a big difference if you miss a couple of gallons.

Example:
13 gallons for 260 miles = 20 MPG
11 gallons for 260 miles = 23.63 MPG

Almost 4 MPG would bring you from 16 to 20, still terrible but it would at least account for some of it.

Wait a sec, how can the software be accurate if you dont know how much fuel you used? If you put in 13 gallons and filled up after going 100 miles, how would you be able to figure your MPG?

[thaxman]

Still getting 22+ city toting a carful of kids around everywhere and stopping at stoplights every 1/2 mile. Drops to about 19.5 in the summer w/full A/C and 110 degree days, but that is better than any other car I have had before, too, except the 1.5L CRX 5MT, which got 29 under the same circumstances.

But we don't talk about hwy mpgs tho w/avg Interstate speeds being 80 mph+

[switz]

You may be right, however the software I use doesn't rely on a FULL tank. I enter the amount purchased and then the distance travelled and i get my mpg since last purchase/recording. I could only put $10 in and it would still give an accurate mpg.

I'm not sure why the 5 was so thirsty on that trip but plan on monitoring things closely before spending $$$ to get it looked at. I may have to find a reason for another road trip! ;-)

As a math teacher, the only way to accurately measure the fuel economy is to fill it up to exactly the same point every time and record the distance travelled. If the tank wasn't full when you started recording your trip, how can you fill it up to that same "not full" point after your trip to determine the exact amount of fuel used to go that distance. If your tank really wasn't full when you started recording your distance and filled it right up after your trip, you not only filled up the fuel required for your trip but the fuel you used covering what-ever distance it took to get your tank to the original "not full" point. This would make it look like way more fuel was used and your economy would be way down.

That said, it is much better to average economy over many fill-ups because you can never fill the tank up to the same point every time (unless you fill it right up to the filler opening each time). My average over a long period of time is anywhere from 24-32 imp mi/gal.

Hope this helps :)